Method for system architecture for modular energy system

ABSTRACT

Mitigating a user interface display function of a modular energy system includes receiving formatted video data at a video data converter circuit, providing differential video signaling data to the display from the video data converter circuit, providing a copy of the differential video signaling data to a processor, and determining that the differential video signaling data is changing over time. Mitigating erroneous outputs from an isolated interface includes receiving a state of a first switch of a first footswitch coupled to a first comparator and a reference voltage coupled to the first comparator, receiving the state of the first switch coupled to the first duplicate comparator and the reference voltage coupled to the first duplicate comparator, comparing the output of the first comparator with the output of the first duplicate comparator, and determining activation or deactivation of a surgical instrument coupled to the controller based on the comparison.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to various surgical systems, includingmodular electrosurgical and/or ultrasonic surgical systems. Operatingrooms (ORs) are in need of streamlined capital solutions because ORs area tangled web of cords, devices, and people due to the number ofdifferent devices that are needed to complete each surgical procedure.This is a reality of every OR in every market throughout the globe.Capital equipment is a major offender in creating clutter within ORsbecause most capital equipment performs one task or job, and each typeof capital equipment requires unique techniques or methods to use andhas a unique user interface. Accordingly, there are unmet consumer needsfor capital equipment and other surgical technology to be consolidatedin order to decrease the equipment footprint within the OR, streamlinethe equipment's interfaces, and improve surgical staff efficiency duringa surgical procedure by reducing the number of devices that surgicalstaff members need to interact with.

A user interface for a modular energy system may be improved byincluding audio mitigation techniques. There is a risk that an energygenerator component of a modular energy system may improperly generate avisual or audio tone to indicate alarms, alerts, and energy activationof electrosurgical/ultrasonic instruments as may be required by externalstandards. The risk of failure to generate a proper visual or audio toneare undesirable during the operation of the electrosurgical/ultrasonicinstrument. Audio feedback to alert the user that anelectrosurgical/ultrasonic instrument has been energized by an energymodule is part of proper operation protocol of theelectrosurgical/ultrasonic instrument. Thus, there is a need to mitigateor eliminate any potential risk of video or audio tone failures toreduce the risk of applying undesired energy by anelectrosurgical/ultrasonic instrument during an operation.

SUMMARY

In one aspect, the present disclosure provides a method of mitigating afunction of a user interface (UI) display of a modular energy system.The method comprises receiving, by a video data converter circuit,formatted video data at an input channel of the video data convertercircuit, wherein the input channel is coupled to a processor and theformatted video data represents an expected image to be displayed on adisplay, the video data converter having two output channels, wherein afirst output channel is coupled to the display and a second outputchannel is coupled back to the processor, wherein the processor isconfigured to couple to a surgical instrument; providing, by the videodata converter circuit, differential video signaling data to the displayfrom the first output channel of the video data converter circuit;providing, by the video data converter circuit, a copy of thedifferential video signaling data to the processor from the secondoutput channel; and determining, by the processor, whether thedifferential video signaling data on the second output channel ischanging over time.

In one aspect, the present disclosure provides a method of mitigatingerroneous outputs from an isolated interface circuit for a modularenergy system. The method comprising: receiving, at a first input of afirst comparator, a state of a first switch of a first footswitchcoupled to the first input of the first comparator and a referencevoltage coupled to a second input of the first comparator; receiving, ata first input of a first duplicate comparator, the state of the firstswitch coupled to the first input of the first duplicate comparator andthe reference voltage coupled to a second input of the first duplicatecomparator; comparing, by a controller coupled to outputs of the firstcomparator and the first duplicate comparator, the output of the firstcomparator with the output of the first duplicate comparator; anddetermining, by the controller, activation or deactivation of a surgicalinstrument coupled to the controller based on the comparison.

In one aspect, the present disclosure provides an audio circuit. Theaudio circuit comprises a processor configured to generate a digitalaudio signal, wherein the audio signal comprises audio data bitsinserted on the rising edge of a clock signal and additional data bitsinserted on a falling edge of the clock signal, wherein the audio databits on the rising edge represent a digital audio tone and theadditional data bits inserted on the falling edge represent a uniquetone identification of the audio data bits on the rising edge; adigital-to-analog converter configured to: receive the digital audiosignal; convert the audio data bits inserted on the rising edge; andignore the additional data bits on the falling edge; an audio mitigationcontrol module configured to: receive the digital audio signal; read theadditional data bits on the falling edge; and confirm that the audiodata bits inserted on the rising edge represent a correct digital audiotone based on the unique tone identification.

In another aspect, the present disclosure provides a circuit formitigating a function of a user interface (UI) display of a modularenergy system. The circuit comprises a processor configured to couple toa surgical instrument; a display; and a video data converter circuitconfigured to receive formatted video data that represents an expectedimage to be displayed on the display and to provide differential videosignaling data to the display and a copy of the differential videosignaling data to the processor; wherein the processor is configured todetermine whether the copy of the differential video signaling data ischanging over time.

In yet another aspect, the present disclosure provides a method ofmitigating a function of a user interface (UI) display of a modularenergy system. The method comprises receiving, by a video data convertercircuit, formatted video data at an input channel of the video dataconverter circuit, wherein the input channel is coupled to a processorand the formatted video data represents an expected image to bedisplayed on a display, the video data converter having two outputchannels, wherein a first output channel is coupled to the display and asecond output channel is coupled back to the processor, wherein theprocessor is configured to couple to a surgical instrument; providing,by the video data converter circuit, differential video signaling datato the display from the first output channel of the video data convertercircuit; providing, by the video data converter circuit, a copy of thedifferential video signaling data to the processor from the secondoutput channel; and determining, by the processor, whether thedifferential video signaling data on the second output channel ischanging over time.

In yet another aspect, the present disclosure provides an audio circuit.The audio circuit comprises a processor; an audio amplifier coupled tothe processor by audio data lines; an audio mitigation control circuitcoupled to the processor and the audio amplifier, a digital-to-analogconverter (DAC) comprising a first analog output channel coupled to afirst speaker; a first current shunt coupled in series with the firstspeaker; a first current sense amplifier having an input coupled to thefirst current shunt and an output coupled to an input of a firstanalog-to-digital converter (ADC); and wherein the output of the firstADC is coupled to the audio mitigation control module; wherein the audiomitigation control circuit is configured to: fetch, from a memorycoupled to the audio mitigation control circuit, a unique identificationnumber to identify an expected audio file, the audio file comprisingaudio data comprising an audio asset and a unique super-audible tone toidentify the audio asset; receive the audio data from the output of thefirst ADC; filter the audio data to isolate a super-audible frequencyrange of the audio data; calculate a fast Fourier transform (FFT) on theaudio data in the isolated super-audible frequency range; perform a peakdetection function on the FFT results to detect a super-audible tone;compare the detected super-audible tone to the unique identificationnumber to identify the expected audio file; and determine a specificaudio file transmitted to the audio amplifier based on the comparison.

In yet another aspect, the present disclosure provides an audio circuit.The audio circuit comprises a processor; an audio amplifier coupled tothe processor by audio data lines; an audio mitigation control circuitcoupled to the processor and the audio amplifier, wherein the audiomitigation control circuit is configured to: fetch, from a memorycoupled to the audio mitigation control circuit, a unique identificationnumber to identify an expected audio file, the audio file comprisingaudio data comprising an audio asset and a unique super-audible tone toidentify the audio asset; receive the audio data transmitted from theprocessor to the audio amplifier; filter the audio data to isolate asuper-audible frequency range of the audio data; calculate a fastFourier transform (FFT) on the audio data in the isolated super-audiblefrequency range; perform a peak detection function on the FFT results todetect a super-audible tone; compare the detected super-audible tone tothe unique identification number to identify the expected audio file;and determine a specific audio file transmitted to the audio amplifierbased on the comparison.

In one aspect, the present disclosure provides an isolated interfacecircuit for a modular energy system. The isolated interface circuitcomprises a comparator comprising a first input configured to couple toa switch, a second input configured to couple to a reference voltage,and an output; a duplicate comparator comprising a first inputconfigured to couple to the switch, a second input configured to coupleto the reference voltage, and an output; an expander circuit comprisingat least two inputs, wherein the output of the comparator is coupled toone of the at least two inputs of the expander circuit, and wherein theoutput of the duplicate comparator is coupled to other of the at leasttwo inputs of the expander circuit, the expander circuit comprising anoutput; an isolator circuit comprising an input and an output, whereinthe input is coupled to the output of the expander circuit; and acontroller coupled to the output of the isolator circuit, wherein thecontroller is configured to: compare the output of the comparator withthe output of the duplicate comparator; and determine activation ordeactivation of a surgical instrument coupled to the controller based onthe comparison.

In another aspect, the present disclosure provides an isolated interfacecircuit for a modular energy system. The isolated interface circuitcomprises a first comparator comprising a first input configured tocouple to a first switch, a second input configured to couple to areference voltage, and an output; a second comparator comprising a firstinput configured to couple to a second switch, a second input configuredto couple to the reference voltage, and an output; a first duplicatecomparator comprising a first input configured to couple to the firstswitch, a second input configured to couple to the reference voltage,and an output; a second duplicate comparator comprising a first inputconfigured to couple to the second switch, a second input configured tocouple to the reference voltage, and an output; an expander circuitcomprising at least four inputs, wherein each of the outputs of thefirst and second comparators is coupled to an input of the expandercircuit, and wherein each of the outputs of the first and secondduplicate comparators is coupled an input of the expander circuit, theexpander circuit comprising an output; an isolator circuit comprising aninput and an output, wherein the input is coupled to the output of theexpander circuit; and a controller coupled to the output of the isolatorcircuit, wherein the controller is configure to: compare the output ofthe first comparator with the output of the first duplicate comparator;compare the output of the second comparator with the output of thesecond duplicate comparator; and determine activation or deactivation ofa surgical instrument coupled to the controller based on the comparison.

In yet another aspect, the present disclosure provides a method ofmitigating erroneous outputs from an isolated interface circuit for amodular energy system. The method comprises receiving, at a first inputof a first comparator, a state of a first switch of a first footswitchcoupled to the first input of the first comparator and a referencevoltage coupled to a second input of the first comparator; receiving, ata first input of a first duplicate comparator, the state of the firstswitch coupled to the first input of the first duplicate comparator andthe reference voltage coupled to a second input of the first duplicatecomparator; comparing, by a controller coupled to outputs of the firstcomparator and the first duplicate comparator, the output of the firstcomparator with the output of the first duplicate comparator; anddetermining, by the controller, activation or deactivation of a surgicalinstrument coupled to the controller based on the comparison.

In one aspect, a modular energy system for use in a surgicalenvironment, may include a plurality of modules, in which each of theplurality of modules is composed of one of an initial module, a terminalmodule, and a functional module. Each of the functional modules and theterminal module may include a module control circuit and a local databus. Each local data bus may include a communication switch, a firstswitch data path configured to permit data communication between thecommunication switch and the module control circuit, a second switchdata path in data communication with the communication switch, and athird switch data path in data communication with the communicationswitch. The initial module may include a physical layer transceiver(PHY) in data communication with an initial module control circuit. Themodular energy system may also include a termination unit in datacommunication with the third data path of the terminal module. Further,the modular energy system may include an internal data bus composed of aserial array of the local data busses of the plurality of functionalmodules and the terminal module, in which a third switch data path of afunctional module N is in data communication with a second switch datapath of a functional module N+1, and a second switch data path of theterminal module is in data communication with a third switch data pathof a preceding functional module. Additionally, the internal data busmay further include the physical layer transceiver (PHY) of the initialmodule in data communication with a second switch data path of asucceeding functional module.

In one aspect, a system for notifying a user of a processor boot-upfault in a computerized device, may include a timing circuit and amulticolor visualization device. In one aspect, the computerized devicemay include a processor and a memory unit configured to store aplurality of instructions for execution by the processor. The processormay be configured to initiate a boot-up process based on at least someof the instructions stored in the memory unit when power is applied tothe computerized device. The timing circuit may be configured toinitiate a timing procedure when power is applied to the computerizeddevice. In one aspect, the timing circuit may be configured to transmita fault signal to the multicolor visualization device when the timingcircuit attains a predetermined value.

In one aspect, a modular energy system for use in a surgical environmentmay include a plurality of functional modules and an internal data buscomprising a serial array of the local data busses of the plurality offunctional modules in mutual data communication. At least two of theplurality of functional modules may include a module control circuit, alocal data bus having a communication switch in data communication withthe control circuit, and a transceiver timer. A first functional moduleof the plurality of functional modules may be configured to transmit adata message over the internal data bus to a second functional module ofthe plurality of functional modules. The first functional module may beconfigured to obtain a transmission time from a transceiver timer of thefirst functional module, append the transmission time to the datamessage, and transmit the data message over the internal data bus to thesecond functional module. The second functional module may be configuredto receive the data message over the internal data bus from the firstfunctional module, obtain a receipt time from a transceiver timer of thesecond functional module, and obtain the transmission time from the datamessage.

A smart surgical system may include a plurality of surgical subsystemsin mutual data communication over a surgical system bus, and a modularenergy system. At least one of the plurality of surgical subsystemscomprises a subsystem transceiver timer. The modular energy system mayinclude a plurality of functional modules, in which at least onefunctional module may include a module control circuit, a local data buscomprising a communication switch in data communication with the controlcircuit, and a transceiver timer. An internal data bus of the modularenergy system may be composed of a serial array of the local data bussesof the plurality of functional modules in mutual data communication. Thesmart surgical system may also include a system data bus composed of theinternal data bus of the modular energy system in data communicationwith the surgical system bus. A transmitting component of the smartsurgical system may include one of the plurality of surgical subsystemsor one of the plurality of functional modules, A receiving component ofthe smart surgical system may include one of the plurality of surgicalsubsystems or one of the plurality of functional modules and is not thetransmitting component. The transmitting component may be configured totransmit a data message over the system data bus to the receivingcomponent. The transmitting component may be configured to obtain atransmission time from a transceiver timer of the transmittingcomponent, append the transmission time to the data message, andtransmit the data message over the system bus to the receivingcomponent. The receiving component may be configured to receive the datamessage over the system data bus from the transmitting component, obtaina receipt time from a transceiver timer of the receiving component, andobtain the transmission time from the data message.

FIGURES

The various aspects described herein, both as to organization andmethods of operation, together with further objects and advantagesthereof, may best be understood by reference to the followingdescription, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings asfollows.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a computer-implemented interactive surgicalsystem, in accordance with at least one aspect of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 2 is a surgical system being used to perform a surgical procedurein an operating room, in accordance with at least one aspect of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a surgical hub paired with a visualization system, a roboticsystem, and an intelligent instrument, in accordance with at least oneaspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a surgical system comprising a generator and various surgicalinstruments usable therewith, in accordance with at least one aspect ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of a situationally aware surgical system, inaccordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a diagram of various modules and other components that arecombinable to customize modular energy systems, in accordance with atleast one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7A is a first illustrative modular energy system configurationincluding a header module and a display screen that renders a graphicaluser interface (GUI) for relaying information regarding modulesconnected to the header module, in accordance with at least one aspectof the present disclosure.

FIG. 7B is the modular energy system shown in FIG. 7A mounted to a cart,in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8A is a second illustrative modular energy system configurationincluding a header module, a display screen, an energy module, and anexpanded energy module connected together and mounted to a cart, inaccordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8B is a third illustrative modular energy system configuration thatis similar to the second configuration shown in FIG. 7A, except that theheader module lacks a display screen, in accordance with at least oneaspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a fourth illustrative modular energy system configurationincluding a header module, a display screen, an energy module, aeexpanded energy module, and a technology module connected together andmounted to a cart, in accordance with at least one aspect of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 10 is a fifth illustrative modular energy system configurationincluding a header module, a display screen, an energy module, anexpanded energy module, a technology module, and a visualization moduleconnected together and mounted to a cart, in accordance with at leastone aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11 is a diagram of a modular energy system including communicablyconnectable surgical platforms, in accordance with at least one aspectof the present disclosure.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a header module of a modular energysystem including a user interface, in accordance with at least oneaspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of a stand-alone hub configuration of amodular energy system, in accordance with at least one aspect of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram of a hub configuration of a modular energysystem integrated with a surgical control system, in accordance with atleast one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram of a user interface module coupled to acommunications module of a modular energy system, in accordance with atleast one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram of an energy module of a modular energysystem, in accordance with at least one aspect of the presentdisclosure.

FIGS. 17A and 17B illustrate a block diagram of an energy module coupledto a header module of a modular energy system, in accordance with atleast one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 18A and 18B illustrate a block diagram of a header/user interface(UI) module of a modular energy system for a hub, such as the headermodule depicted in FIG. 15, in accordance with at least one aspect ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram of an energy module for a hub, such as theenergy module depicted in FIGS. 13-18B, in accordance with at least oneaspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram of a modular energy system stackillustrating a power backplane, in accordance with at least one aspectof the present disclosure.

FIG. 21 is a schematic diagram of a modular energy system, in accordancewith at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 22 is a block diagram of an audio output circuit.

FIG. 23 are timing diagrams of a serial data stream, where the uppertiming diagram represents a conventional serial data signal and thelower timing diagram represents a serial data signal with additionalbits inserted in the audio data stream, in accordance with at least oneaspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 24 is a block diagram of an audio output circuit that utilizesadditional data bits inside a standard I²S data frame that correspond tounique tone identification, in accordance with at least one aspect ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 25 is a block diagram of a circuit for mitigating the function of auser Interface (UI) display of a modular energy system, or similarsurgical equipment, in accordance with at least one aspect of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 26 is a block diagram of an LVDS converter circuit having oneoutput channel, which is passed through a video splitter circuit coupledto the output channel of the LVDS converter circuit, the video splittercircuit having two video data outputs, in accordance with at leastaspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 27 is a flow diagram of a method for mitigating the function of theuser Interface (UI) display of the modular energy system shown in FIG.25 (25), or similar surgical equipment, in accordance with at least oneaspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 28 is a block diagram of a circuit for mitigating the function of auser Interface (UI) display of a module energy system, or similarsurgical equipment, in accordance with at least one aspect of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 29 is a graph of a frequency spectrum of a first raw unfilteredaudio file.

FIG. 30 is a graph of a frequency spectrum of a second raw unfilteredaudio file.

FIG. 31 is a graph of a frequency spectrum of a first pre-filtered audiofile and a first target super-audible range (20-24 kHz).

FIG. 32 is a graph of a frequency spectrum of a second pre-filteredaudio file and a second target super-audible range (20-24 kHz).

FIG. 33 is a graph of a frequency spectrum of a first audio file with asingle 21 kHz super-audible tone.

FIG. 34 is a graph of a frequency spectrum of a second audio file with asingle 22.5 kHz super-audible tone.

FIG. 35 is a graph of a frequency spectrum of a mixed audio file withsuper-audible tones.

FIG. 36 is a graph of a frequency spectrum of a post filtered mixedaudio file.

FIG. 37 is a graph of a frequency spectrum of a post-filtered andunder-sampled audio file.

FIG. 38 is a logic diagram of an audio mitigation method usingsuper-audible tones, in accordance with at least one aspect of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 39 is a schematic diagram of an isolated footswitch interfacecircuit to support and mitigate footswitch activation for multiplefootswitches and types of footswitches, in accordance with at least oneaspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 40 shows an operating room (OR) with an accessory communicatingwirelessly to a modular energy system.

FIG. 41 is a schematic representation of a wireless mesh network, inaccordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 42 is a bock diagram of a modular energy system comprising multipleradios, in accordance with at least one aspect of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 43 is a diagram of a footswitch comprising multiple radios, inaccordance with at least aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 44 shows an OR equipped with an accessory communicating wirelesslyto a modular energy system over a wireless mesh network implemented bymultiple radios, in accordance with at least one aspect of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 45 is an operating room (OR) configured with additional “repeater”nodes optionally be placed around the OR environment to provide a robustwireless mesh network, in accordance with at least one aspect of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 46 shows the operating room (OR) shown in FIG. 45 with interferenceblocking some of the communication paths and communications routed toother nodes in the wireless mesh network, in accordance with at leastone aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 47 is a block diagram of a modular energy system having an internaldata bus extension to multiple external devices, in accordance with atleast one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 48 is a block diagram of an internal data bus of a modular energysystem depicting data communications throughout the internal data busunder normal conditions, in accordance with at least one aspect of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 49 is a block diagram of an internal data bus of a modular energysystem depicting data communications throughout the internal data busduring a switch failure, in accordance with at least one aspect of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 50 is a block diagram of an internal data bus of a modular energysystem depicting the generation of a communication switch address foreach local data bus and a parity check system for the addresses, inaccordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 51 depicts a flow chart of a process and components that may beused to present a user with an indication of a processor boot-up fault,in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 52 is a block diagram of a communication link between atransmitting component and a receiving component, in accordance with atleast one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 53 illustrates a potential location of a charging coil on a headermodule of the modular energy system, in accordance with at least oneaspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 54 is a diagram of how inductive charging system can transfer powerwirelessly between two devices, in accordance with at least one aspectof the present disclosure.

FIG. 55 illustrates how the coil would rest inside of the header module,in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 56 illustrates a wireless charging station module as part of amodular energy system, in accordance with at least one aspect of thepresent disclosure.

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding partsthroughout the several views. The exemplifications set out hereinillustrate various disclosed aspects, in one form, and suchexemplifications are not to be construed as limiting the scope thereofin any manner.

DESCRIPTION

Applicant of the present application owns the following U.S. patentapplications filed concurrently herewith, the disclosure of each ofwhich is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety:

-   U.S. patent application Docket No. END9314USNP1/210018-1M, titled    METHOD FOR MECHANICAL PACKAGING FOR MODULAR ENERGY SYSTEM;-   U.S. patent application Docket No. END9314USNP2/210018-2, titled    BACKPLANE CONNECTOR ATTACHMENT MECHANISM FOR MODULAR ENERGY SYSTEM;-   U.S. patent application Docket No. END9314USNP3/210018-3, titled    BEZEL WITH LIGHT BLOCKING FEATURES FOR MODULAR ENERGY SYSTEM;-   U.S. patent application Docket No. END9314USNP4/210018-4, titled    HEADER FOR MODULAR ENERGY SYSTEM;-   U.S. patent application Docket No. END9315USNP1/210019, titled    SURGICAL PROCEDURALIZATION VIA MODULAR ENERGY SYSTEM;-   U.S. patent application Docket No. END9316USNP1/210020-1M, titled    METHOD FOR ENERGY DELIVERY FOR MODULAR ENERGY SYSTEM;-   U.S. patent application Docket No. END9316USNP2/210020-2, titled    MODULAR ENERGY SYSTEM WITH DUAL AMPLIFIERS AND TECHNIQUES FOR    UPDATING PARAMETERS THEREOF;-   U.S. patent application Docket No. END9316USNP3/210020-3, titled    MODULAR ENERGY SYSTEM WITH MULTI-ENERGY PORT SPLITTER FOR MULTIPLE    ENERGY DEVICES;-   U.S. patent application Docket No. END9317USNP1/210021-1M, titled    METHOD FOR INTELLIGENT INSTRUMENTS FOR MODULAR ENERGY SYSTEM;-   U.S. patent application Docket No. END9317USNP2/210021-2, titled    RADIO FREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION TOKEN FOR WIRELESS SURGICAL    INSTRUMENTS;-   U.S. patent application Docket No. END9317USNP3/210021-3, titled    INTELLIGENT DATA PORTS FOR MODULAR ENERGY SYSTEMS;-   U.S. patent application Docket No. END9318USNP2/210022-2, titled    USER INTERFACE MITIGATION TECHNIQUES FOR MODULAR ENERGY SYSTEMS;-   U.S. patent application Docket No. END9318USNP3/210022-3, titled    ENERGY DELIVERY MITIGATIONS FOR MODULAR ENERGY SYSTEMS;-   U.S. patent application Docket No. END9318USNP4/210022-4, titled    ARCHITECTURE FOR MODULAR ENERGY SYSTEM; and-   U.S. patent application Docket No. END9318USNP5/210022-5, titled    MODULAR ENERGY SYSTEM WITH HARDWARE MITIGATED COMMUNICATION.

Applicant of the present application owns the following U.S. patentapplications filed Sep. 5, 2019, the disclosure of each of which isherein incorporated by reference in its entirety:

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No. 16/562,123, titled METHOD FOR    CONSTRUCTING AND USING A MODULAR SURGICAL ENERGY SYSTEM WITH    MULTIPLE DEVICES, now U.S. Patent Application Publication No.    2020/0100830;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/562,135, titled METHOD FOR    CONTROLLING AN ENERGY MODULE OUTPUT, now U.S. Patent Application    Publication No. 2020/0078076;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/562,180, titled ENERGY MODULE    FOR DRIVING MULTIPLE ENERGY MODALITIES, now U.S. Patent Application    Publication No. 2020/0078080;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/562,184, titled GROUNDING    ARRANGEMENT OF ENERGY MODULES, now U.S. Patent Application    Publication No. 2020/0078081;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/562,188, titled BACKPLANE    CONNECTOR DESIGN TO CONNECT STACKED ENERGY MODULES, now U.S. Patent    Application Publication No. 2020/0078116;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/562,195, titled ENERGY MODULE    FOR DRIVING MULTIPLE ENERGY MODALITIES THROUGH A PORT, now U.S.    Patent Application Publication No. 20200078117;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/562,202 titled SURGICAL    INSTRUMENT UTILIZING DRIVE SIGNAL TO POWER SECONDARY FUNCTION, now    U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2020/0078082;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/562,142, titled METHOD FOR    ENERGY DISTRIBUTION IN A SURGICAL MODULAR ENERGY SYSTEM, now U.S.    Patent Application Publication No. 2020/0078070;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/562,169, titled SURGICAL MODULAR    ENERGY SYSTEM WITH A SEGMENTED BACKPLANE, now U.S. Patent    Application Publication No. 2020/0078112;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/562,185, titled SURGICAL MODULAR    ENERGY SYSTEM WITH FOOTER MODULE, now U.S. Patent Application    Publication No. 2020/0078115;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/562,203, titled POWER AND    COMMUNICATION MITIGATION ARRANGEMENT FOR MODULAR SURGICAL ENERGY    SYSTEM, now U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2020/0078118;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/562,212, titled MODULAR SURGICAL    ENERGY SYSTEM WITH MODULE POSITIONAL AWARENESS SENSING WITH VOLTAGE    DETECTION, now U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2020/0078119;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/562,234, titled MODULAR SURGICAL    ENERGY SYSTEM WITH MODULE POSITIONAL AWARENESS SENSING WITH TIME    COUNTER, now U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2020/0305945;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/562,243, titled MODULAR SURGICAL    ENERGY SYSTEM WITH MODULE POSITIONAL AWARENESS WITH DIGITAL LOGIC,    now U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2020/0078120;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/562,125, titled METHOD FOR    COMMUNICATING BETWEEN MODULES AND DEVICES IN A MODULAR SURGICAL    SYSTEM, now U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2020/0100825;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/562,137, titled FLEXIBLE    HAND-SWITCH CIRCUIT, now U.S. Patent Application Publication No.    2020/0106220;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/562,143, titled FIRST AND SECOND    COMMUNICATION PROTOCOL ARRANGEMENT FOR DRIVING PRIMARY AND SECONDARY    DEVICES THROUGH A SINGLE PORT, now U.S. Patent Application    Publication No. 2020/0090808;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/562,148, titled FLEXIBLE NEUTRAL    ELECTRODE, now U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2020/0078077;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/562,154, titled SMART RETURN PAD    SENSING THROUGH MODULATION OF NEAR FIELD COMMUNICATION AND CONTACT    QUALITY MONITORING SIGNALS, now U.S. Patent Application Publication    No. 2020/0078089;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/562,162, titled AUTOMATIC    ULTRASONIC ENERGY ACTIVATION CIRCUIT DESIGN FOR MODULAR SURGICAL    SYSTEMS, now U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2020/0305924;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/562,167, titled COORDINATED    ENERGY OUTPUTS OF SEPARATE BUT CONNECTED MODULES, now U.S. Patent    Application Publication No. 2020/0078078;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/562,170, titled MANAGING    SIMULTANEOUS MONOPOLAR OUTPUTS USING DUTY CYCLE AND SYNCHRONIZATION,    now U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2020/0078079;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/562,172, titled PORT PRESENCE    DETECTION SYSTEM FOR MODULAR ENERGY SYSTEM, now U.S. Patent    Application Publication No. 2020/0078113;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/562,175, titled INSTRUMENT    TRACKING ARRANGEMENT BASED ON REAL TIME CLOCK INFORMATION, now U.S.    Patent Application Publication No. 2020/0078071;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/562,177, titled REGIONAL    LOCATION TRACKING OF COMPONENTS OF A MODULAR ENERGY SYSTEM, now U.S.    Patent Application Publication No. 2020/0078114;-   U.S. Design patent application Ser. No. 29/704,610, titled ENERGY    MODULE;-   U.S. Design patent application Ser. No. 29/704,614, titled ENERGY    MODULE MONOPOLAR PORT WITH FOURTH SOCKET AMONG THREE OTHER SOCKETS;-   U.S. Design patent application Ser. No. 29/704,616, titled BACKPLANE    CONNECTOR FOR ENERGY MODULE; and-   U.S. Design patent application Ser. No. 29/704,617, titled ALERT    SCREEN FOR ENERGY MODULE.

Applicant of the present application owns the following U.S. PatentProvisional applications filed Mar. 29, 2019, the disclosure of each ofwhich is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety:

-   U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/826,584, titled    MODULAR SURGICAL PLATFORM ELECTRICAL ARCHITECTURE;-   U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/826,587, titled    MODULAR ENERGY SYSTEM CONNECTIVITY;-   U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/826,588, titled    MODULAR ENERGY SYSTEM INSTRUMENT COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUES; and-   U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/826,592, titled    MODULAR ENERGY DELIVERY SYSTEM.

Applicant of the present application owns the following U.S. PatentProvisional application filed Sep. 7, 2018, the disclosure of which isherein incorporated by reference in its entirety:

-   U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/728,480, titled    MODULAR ENERGY SYSTEM AND USER INTERFACE.

Before explaining various aspects of surgical devices and generators indetail, it should be noted that the illustrative examples are notlimited in application or use to the details of construction andarrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings anddescription. The illustrative examples may be implemented orincorporated in other aspects, variations and modifications, and may bepracticed or carried out in various ways. Further, unless otherwiseindicated, the terms and expressions employed herein have been chosenfor the purpose of describing the illustrative examples for theconvenience of the reader and are not for the purpose of limitationthereof. Also, it will be appreciated that one or more of thefollowing-described aspects, expressions of aspects, and/or examples,can be combined with any one or more of the other following-describedaspects, expressions of aspects and/or examples.

Various aspects are directed to improved ultrasonic surgical devices,electrosurgical devices and generators for use therewith. Aspects of theultrasonic surgical devices can be configured for transecting and/orcoagulating tissue during surgical procedures, for example. Aspects ofthe electrosurgical devices can be configured for transecting,coagulating, scaling, welding and/or desiccating tissue during surgicalprocedures, for example.

Surgical System Hardware

Referring to FIG. 1, a computer-implemented interactive surgical system100 includes one or more surgical systems 102 and a cloud-based system(e.g., the cloud 104 that may include a remote server 113 coupled to astorage device 105). Each surgical system 102 includes at least onesurgical hub 106 in communication with the cloud 104 that may include aremote server 113. In one example, as illustrated in FIG. 1, thesurgical system 102 includes a visualization system 108, a roboticsystem 110, and a handheld intelligent surgical instrument 112, whichare configured to communicate with one another and/or the hub 106. Insome aspects, a surgical system 102 may include an M number of hubs 106,an N number of visualization systems 108, an O number of robotic systems110, and a P number of handheld intelligent surgical instruments 112,where M, N, O, and P are integers greater than or equal to one.

FIG. 2 depicts an example of a surgical system 102 being used to performa surgical procedure on a patient who is lying down on an operatingtable 114 in a surgical operating room 116. A robotic system 110 is usedin the surgical procedure as a part of the surgical system 102. Therobotic system 110 includes a surgeon's console 118, a patient side cart120 (surgical robot), and a surgical robotic hub 122. The patient sidecart 120 can manipulate at least one removably coupled surgical tool 117through a minimally invasive incision in the body of the patient whilethe surgeon views the surgical site through the surgeon's console 118.An image of the surgical site can be obtained by a medical imagingdevice 124, which can be manipulated by the patient side cart 120 toorient the imaging device 124. The robotic hub 122 can be used toprocess the images of the surgical site for subsequent display to thesurgeon through the surgeon's console 118.

Other types of robotic systems can be readily adapted for use with thesurgical system 102. Various examples of robotic systems and surgicaltools that are suitable for use with the present disclosure aredescribed in U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/611,339,titled ROBOT ASSISTED SURGICAL PLATFORM, filed Dec. 28, 2017, thedisclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Various examples of cloud-based analytics that are performed by thecloud 104, and are suitable for use with the present disclosure, aredescribed in U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/611,340,titled CLOUD-BASED MEDICAL ANALYTICS, filed Dec. 28, 2017, thedisclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

In various aspects, the imaging device 124 includes at least one imagesensor and one or more optical components. Suitable image sensorsinclude, but are not limited to, Charge-Coupled Device (CCD) sensors andComplementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) sensors.

The optical components of the imaging device 124 may include one or moreillumination sources and/or one or more lenses. The one or moreillumination sources may be directed to illuminate portions of thesurgical field. The one or more image sensors may receive lightreflected or refracted from the surgical field, including lightreflected or refracted from tissue and/or surgical instruments.

The one or more illumination sources may be configured to radiateelectromagnetic energy in the visible spectrum as well as the invisiblespectrum. The visible spectrum, sometimes referred to as the opticalspectrum or luminous spectrum, is that portion of the electromagneticspectrum that is visible to (i.e., can be detected by) the human eye andmay be referred to as visible light or simply light. A typical human eyewill respond to wavelengths in air that are from about 380 nm to about750 nm.

The invisible spectrum (i.e., the non-luminous spectrum) is that portionof the electromagnetic spectrum that lies below and above the visiblespectrum (i.e., wavelengths below about 380 nm and above about 750 nm).The invisible spectrum is not detectable by the human eye. Wavelengthsgreater than about 750 nm are longer than the red visible spectrum, andthey become invisible infrared (IR), microwave, and radioelectromagnetic radiation. Wavelengths less than about 380 nm areshorter than the violet spectrum, and they become invisible ultraviolet,x-ray, and gamma ray electromagnetic radiation.

In various aspects, the imaging device 124 is configured for use in aminimally invasive procedure. Examples of imaging devices suitable foruse with the present disclosure include, but not limited to, anarthroscope, angioscope, bronchoscope, choledochoscope, colonoscope,cytoscope, duodenoscope, enteroscope, esophagogastro-duodenoscope(gastroscope), endoscope, laryngoscope, nasopharyngo-neproscope,sigmoidoscope, thoracoscope, and ureteroscope.

In one aspect, the imaging device employs multi-spectrum monitoring todiscriminate topography and underlying structures. A multi-spectralimage is one that captures image data within specific wavelength rangesacross the electromagnetic spectrum. The wavelengths may be separated byfilters or by the use of instruments that are sensitive to particularwavelengths, including light from frequencies beyond the visible lightrange, e.g., IR and ultraviolet. Spectral imaging can allow extractionof additional information the human eye fails to capture with itsreceptors for red, green, and blue. The use of multi-spectral imaging isdescribed in greater detail under the heading “Advanced ImagingAcquisition Module” in U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.62/611,341, titled INTERACTIVE SURGICAL PLATFORM, filed Dec. 28, 2017,the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference in itsentirety. Multi-spectrum monitoring can be a useful tool in relocating asurgical field after a surgical task is completed to perform one or moreof the previously described tests on the treated tissue.

It is axiomatic that strict sterilization of the operating room andsurgical equipment is required during any surgery. The strict hygieneand sterilization conditions required in a “surgical theater,” i.e., anoperating or treatment room, necessitate the highest possible sterilityof all medical devices and equipment. Part of that sterilization processis the need to sterilize anything that comes in contact with the patientor penetrates the sterile field, including the imaging device 124 andits attachments and components. It will be appreciated that the sterilefield may be considered a specified area, such as within a tray or on asterile towel, that is considered free of microorganisms, or the sterilefield may be considered an area, immediately around a patient, who hasbeen prepared for a surgical procedure. The sterile field may includethe scrubbed team members, who are properly attired, and all furnitureand fixtures in the area.

In various aspects, the visualization system 108 includes one or moreimaging sensors, one or more image-processing units, one or more storagearrays, and one or more displays that are strategically arranged withrespect to the sterile field, as illustrated in FIG. 2. In one aspect,the visualization system 108 includes an interface for HL7, PACS, andEMR. Various components of the visualization system 108 are describedunder the heading “Advanced Imaging Acquisition Module” in U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/611,341, titled INTERACTIVESURGICAL PLATFORM, filed Dec. 28, 2017, the disclosure of which isherein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, a primary display 119 is positioned in thesterile field to be visible to an operator at the operating table 114.In addition, a visualization tower 111 is positioned outside the sterilefield. The visualization tower 111 includes a first non-sterile display107 and a second non-sterile display 109, which face away from eachother. The visualization system 108, guided by the hub 106, isconfigured to utilize the displays 107, 109, and 119 to coordinateinformation flow to operators inside and outside the sterile field. Forexample, the hub 106 may cause the visualization system 108 to display asnapshot of a surgical site, as recorded by an imaging device 124, on anon-sterile display 107 or 109, while maintaining a live feed of thesurgical site on the primary display 119. The snapshot on thenon-sterile display 107 or 109 can permit a non-sterile operator toperform a diagnostic step relevant to the surgical procedure, forexample.

In one aspect, the hub 106 is also configured to route a diagnosticinput or feedback entered by a non-sterile operator at the visualizationtower 111 to the primary display 119 within the sterile field, where itcan be viewed by a sterile operator at the operating table. In oneexample, the input can be in the form of a modification to the snapshotdisplayed on the non-sterile display 107 or 109, which can be routed tothe primary display 119 by the hub 106.

Referring to FIG. 2, a surgical instrument 112 is being used in thesurgical procedure as part of the surgical system 102. The hub 106 isalso configured to coordinate information flow to a display of thesurgical instrument 112. For example, in U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 62/611,341, titled INTERACTIVE SURGICAL PLATFORM,filed Dec. 28, 2017, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated byreference in its entirety. A diagnostic input or feedback entered by anon-sterile operator at the visualization tower 111 can be routed by thehub 106 to the surgical instrument display 115 within the sterile field,where it can be viewed by the operator of the surgical instrument 112.Example surgical instruments that are suitable for use with the surgicalsystem 102 are described under the heading SURGICAL INSTRUMENT HARDWAREand in U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/611,341, titledINTERACTIVE SURGICAL PLATFORM, filed Dec. 28, 2017, the disclosure ofwhich is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety, for example.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a hub 106 is depicted in communication with avisualization system 108, a robotic system 110, and a handheldintelligent surgical instrument 112. In some aspects, the visualizationsystem 108 may be a separable piece of equipment. In alternativeaspects, the visualization system 108 could be contained within the hub106 as a functional module. The hub 106 includes a hub display 135, animaging module 138, a generator module 140, a communication module 130,a processor module 132, a storage array 134, and an operating roommapping module 133. In certain aspects, as illustrated in FIG. 3, thehub 106 further includes a smoke evacuation module 126, asuction/irrigation module 128, and/or an insufflation module 129. Incertain aspects, any of the modules in the hub 106 may be combined witheach other into a single module.

During a surgical procedure, energy application to tissue, for sealingand/or cutting, is generally associated with smoke evacuation, suctionof excess fluid, and/or irrigation of the tissue. Fluid, power, and/ordata lines from different sources are often entangled during thesurgical procedure. Valuable time can be lost addressing this issueduring a surgical procedure. Detangling the lines may necessitatedisconnecting the lines from their respective modules, which may requireresetting the modules. The hub modular enclosure 136 offers a unifiedenvironment for managing the power, data, and fluid lines, which reducesthe frequency of entanglement between such lines.

Aspects of the present disclosure present a surgical hub for use in asurgical procedure that involves energy application to tissue at asurgical site. The surgical hub includes a hub enclosure and a combogenerator module slidably receivable in a docking station of the hubenclosure. The docking station includes data and power contacts. Thecombo generator module includes one or more of an ultrasonic energygenerator component, a bipolar RF energy generator component, and amonopolar RF energy generator component that are housed in a singleunit. In one aspect, the combo generator module also includes a smokeevacuation component, at least one energy delivery cable for connectingthe combo generator module to a surgical instrument, at least one smokeevacuation component configured to evacuate smoke, fluid, and/orparticulates generated by the application of therapeutic energy to thetissue, and a fluid line extending from the remote surgical site to thesmoke evacuation component.

In one aspect, the fluid line is a first fluid line and a second fluidline extends from the remote surgical site to a suction and irrigationmodule slidably received in the hub enclosure. In one aspect, the hubenclosure comprises a fluid interface.

Certain surgical procedures may require the application of more than oneenergy type to the tissue. One energy type may be more beneficial forcutting the tissue, while another different energy type may be morebeneficial for sealing the tissue. For example, a bipolar generator canbe used to seal the tissue while an ultrasonic generator can be used tocut the sealed tissue. Aspects of the present disclosure present asolution where a hub modular enclosure 136 is configured to accommodatedifferent generators, and facilitate an interactive communicationtherebetween. One of the advantages of the hub modular enclosure 136 isenabling the quick removal and/or replacement of various modules.

Aspects of the present disclosure present a modular surgical enclosurefor use in a surgical procedure that involves energy application totissue. The modular surgical enclosure includes a first energy-generatormodule, configured to generate a first energy for application to thetissue, and a first docking station comprising a first docking port thatincludes first data and power contacts. In one aspect, the firstenergy-generator module is slidably movable into an electricalengagement with the power and data contacts and wherein the firstenergy-generator module is slidably movable out of the electricalengagement with the first power and data contacts. In an alternativeaspect, the first energy-generator module is stackably movable into anelectrical engagement with the power and data contacts and wherein thefirst energy-generator module is stackably movable out of the electricalengagement with the first power and data contacts.

Further to the above, the modular surgical enclosure also includes asecond energy-generator module configured to generate a second energy,either the same or different than the first energy, for application tothe tissue, and a second docking station comprising a second dockingport that includes second data and power contacts. In one aspect, thesecond energy-generator module is slidably movable into an electricalengagement with the power and data contacts, and wherein the secondenergy-generator module is slidably movable out of the electricalengagement with the second power and data contacts. In an alternativeaspect, the second energy-generator module is stackably movable into anelectrical engagement with the power and data contacts, and wherein thesecond energy-generator module is stackably movable out of theelectrical engagement with the second power and data contacts.

In addition, the modular surgical enclosure also includes acommunication bus between the first docking port and the second dockingport, configured to facilitate communication between the firstenergy-generator module and the second energy-generator module.

Referring to FIG. 3, aspects of the present disclosure are presented fora hub modular enclosure 136 that allows the modular integration of agenerator module 140, a smoke evacuation module 126, asuction/irrigation module 128, and an insufflation module 129. The hubmodular enclosure 136 further facilitates interactive communicationbetween the modules 140, 126, 128, 129. The generator module 140 can bea generator module with integrated monopolar, bipolar, and ultrasoniccomponents supported in a single housing unit slidably insertable intothe hub modular enclosure 136. The generator module 140 can beconfigured to connect to a monopolar device 142, a bipolar device 144,and an ultrasonic device 148. Alternatively, the generator module 140may comprise a series of monopolar, bipolar, and/or ultrasonic generatormodules that interact through the hub modular enclosure 136. The hubmodular enclosure 136 can be configured to facilitate the insertion ofmultiple generators and interactive communication between the generatorsdocked into the hub modular enclosure 136 so that the generators wouldact as a single generator.

In one aspect, the hub modular enclosure 136 comprises a modular powerand communication backplane 149 with external and wireless communicationheaders to enable the removable attachment of the modules 140, 126, 128,129 and interactive communication therebetween.

Generator Hardware

As used throughout this description, the term “wireless” and itsderivatives may be used to describe circuits, devices, systems, methods,techniques, communications channels, etc., that may communicate datathrough the use of modulated electromagnetic radiation through anon-solid medium. The term does not imply that the associated devices donot contain any wires, although in some aspects they might not. Thecommunication module may implement any of a number of wireless or wiredcommunication standards or protocols, including but not limited to Wi-Fi(IEEE 802.11 family), WiMAX (IEEE 802.16 family), IEEE 802.20, long termevolution (LTE), Ev-DO, HSPA+, HSDPA+, HSUPA+, EDGE, GSM, GPRS, CDMA,TDMA, DECT, Bluetooth, Ethernet derivatives thereof, as well as anyother wireless and wired protocols that are designated as 3G, 4G, 5G,and beyond. The computing module may include a plurality ofcommunication modules. For instance, a first communication module may bededicated to shorter range wireless communications such as Wi-Fi andBluetooth and a second communication module may be dedicated to longerrange wireless communications such as GPS, EDGE, GPRS, CDMA, WiMAX, LTE,Ev-DO, and others.

As used herein a processor or processing unit is an electronic circuitwhich performs operations on some external data source, usually memoryor some other data stream. The term is used herein to refer to thecentral processor (central processing unit) in a system or computersystems (especially systems on a chip (SoCs)) that combine a number ofspecialized “processors.”

As used herein, a system on a chip or system on chip (SoC or SOC) is anintegrated circuit (also known as an “IC” or “chip”) that integrates allcomponents of a computer or other electronic systems. It may containdigital, analog, mixed-signal, and often radio-frequency functions—allon a single substrate. A SoC integrates a microcontroller (ormicroprocessor) with advanced peripherals like graphics processing unit(GPU), Wi-Fi module, or coprocessor. A SoC may or may not containbuilt-in memory.

As used herein, a microcontroller or controller is a system thatintegrates a microprocessor with peripheral circuits and memory. Amicrocontroller (or MCU for microcontroller unit) may be implemented asa small computer on a single integrated circuit. It may be similar to aSoC; a SoC may include a microcontroller as one of its components. Amicrocontroller may contain one or more core processing units (CPUs)along with memory and programmable input/output peripherals. Programmemory in the form of Ferroelectric RAM, NOR flash or OTP ROM is alsooften included on chip, as well as a small amount of RAM.Microcontrollers may be employed for embedded applications, in contrastto the microprocessors used in personal computers or other generalpurpose applications consisting of various discrete chips.

As used herein, the term controller or microcontroller may be astand-alone IC or chip device that interfaces with a peripheral device.This may be a link between two parts of a computer or a controller on anexternal device that manages the operation of (and connection with) thatdevice.

Any of the processors or microcontrollers described herein, may beimplemented by any single core or multicore processor such as thoseknown under the trade name ARM Cortex by Texas Instruments. In oneaspect, the processor may be an LM4F230H5QR ARM Cortex-M4F ProcessorCore, available from Texas Instruments, for example, comprising on-chipmemory of 256 KB single-cycle flash memory, or other non-volatilememory, up to 40 MHz, a prefetch buffer to improve performance above 40MHz, a 32 KB single-cycle serial random access memory (SRAM), internalread-only memory (ROM) loaded with StellarisWare® software, 2 KBelectrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), one ormore pulse width modulation (PWM) modules, one or more quadratureencoder inputs (QEI) analog, one or more 12-bit Analog-to-DigitalConverters (ADC) with 12 analog input channels, details of which areavailable for the product datasheet.

In one aspect, the processor may comprise a safety controller comprisingtwo controller-based families such as TMS570 and RM4x known under thetrade name Hercules ARM Cortex R4, also by Texas Instruments. The safetycontroller may be configured specifically for IEC 61508 and ISO 26262safety critical applications, among others, to provide advancedintegrated safety features while delivering scalable performance,connectivity, and memory options.

Modular devices include the modules (as described in connection withFIG. 3, for example) that are receivable within a surgical hub and thesurgical devices or instruments that can be connected to the variousmodules in order to connect or pair with the corresponding surgical hub.The modular devices include, for example, intelligent surgicalinstruments, medical imaging devices, suction/irrigation devices, smokeevacuators, energy generators, ventilators, insufflators, and displays.The modular devices described herein can be controlled by controlalgorithms. The control algorithms can be executed on the modular deviceitself, on the surgical hub to which the particular modular device ispaired, or on both the modular device and the surgical hub (e.g., via adistributed computing architecture). In some exemplifications, themodular devices' control algorithms control the devices based on datasensed by the modular device itself (i.e., by sensors in, on, orconnected to the modular device). This data can be related to thepatient being operated on (e.g., tissue properties or insufflationpressure) or the modular device itself (e.g., the rate at which a knifeis being advanced, motor current, or energy levels). For example, acontrol algorithm for a surgical stapling and cutting instrument cancontrol the rate at which the instrument's motor drives its knifethrough tissue according to resistance encountered by the knife as itadvances.

FIG. 4 illustrates one form of a surgical system 2200 comprising amodular energy system 2000 and various surgical instruments 2204, 2206,2208 usable therewith, where the surgical instrument 2204 is anultrasonic surgical instrument, the surgical instrument 2206 is an RFelectrosurgical instrument, and the multifunction surgical instrument2208 is a combination ultrasonic/RF electrosurgical instrument. Themodular energy system 2000 is configurable for use with a variety ofsurgical instruments. According to various forms, the modular energysystem 2000 may be configurable for use with different surgicalinstruments of different types including, for example, ultrasonicsurgical instruments 2204, RF electrosurgical instruments 2206, andmultifunction surgical instruments 2208 that integrate RF and ultrasonicenergies delivered individually or simultaneously from the modularenergy system 2000. Although in the form of FIG. 4 the modular energysystem 2000 is shown separate from the surgical instruments 2204, 2206,2208 in one form, the modular energy system 2000 may be formedintegrally with any of the surgical instruments 2204, 2206, 2208 to forma unitary surgical system. The modular energy system 2000 may beconfigured for wired or wireless communication.

The modular energy system 2000 is configured to drive multiple surgicalinstruments 2204, 2206, 2208. The first surgical instrument is anultrasonic surgical instrument 2204 and comprises a handpiece 2205 (HP),an ultrasonic transducer 2220, a shaft 2226, and an end effector 2222.The end effector 2222 comprises an ultrasonic blade 2228 acousticallycoupled to the ultrasonic transducer 2220 and a clamp arm 2240. Thehandpiece 2205 comprises a trigger 2243 to operate the clamp arm 2240and a combination of the toggle buttons 2234 a, 2234 b, 2234 c toenergize and drive the ultrasonic blade 2228 or other function. Thetoggle buttons 2234 a, 2234 b, 2234 c can be configured to energize theultrasonic transducer 2220 with the modular energy system 2000.

The modular energy system 2000 also is configured to drive a secondsurgical instrument 2206. The second surgical instrument 2206 is an RFelectrosurgical instrument and comprises a handpiece 2207 (HP), a shaft2227, and an end effector 2224. The end effector 2224 compriseselectrodes in clamp arms 2242 a, 2242 b and return through an electricalconductor portion of the shaft 2227. The electrodes are coupled to andenergized by a bipolar energy source within the modular energy system2000. The handpiece 2207 comprises a trigger 2245 to operate the clamparms 2242 a, 2242 b and an energy button 2235 to actuate an energyswitch to energize the electrodes in the end effector 2224.

The modular energy system 2000 also is configured to drive amultifunction surgical instrument 2208. The multifunction surgicalinstrument 2208 comprises a handpiece 2209 (HP), a shaft 2229, and anend effector 2225. The end effector 2225 comprises an ultrasonic blade2249 and a clamp arm 2246. The ultrasonic blade 2249 is acousticallycoupled to the ultrasonic transducer 2220. The ultrasonic transducer2220 may be separable from or integral to the handpiece 2209. Thehandpiece 2209 comprises a trigger 2247 to operate the clamp arm 2246and a combination of the toggle buttons 2237 a, 2237 b, 2237 c toenergize and drive the ultrasonic blade 2249 or other function. Thetoggle buttons 2237 a, 2237 b, 2237 c can be configured to energize theultrasonic transducer 2220 with the modular energy system 2000 andenergize the ultrasonic blade 2249 with a bipolar energy source alsocontained within the modular energy system 2000.

The modular energy system 2000 is configurable for use with a variety ofsurgical instruments. According to various forms, the modular energysystem 2000 may be configurable for use with different surgicalinstruments of different types including, for example, the ultrasonicsurgical instrument 2204, the RF electrosurgical instrument 2206, andthe multifunction surgical instrument 2208 that integrates RF andultrasonic energies delivered individually or simultaneously from themodular energy system 2000. Although in the form of FIG. 4 the modularenergy system 2000 is shown separate from the surgical instruments 2204,2206, 2208, in another form the modular energy system 2000 may be formedintegrally with any one of the surgical instruments 2204, 2206, 2208 toform a unitary surgical system. Further aspects of generators fordigitally generating electrical signal waveforms and surgicalinstruments are described in US patent publication US-2017-0086914-A1,which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Situational Awareness

Although an “intelligent” device including control algorithms thatrespond to sensed data can be an improvement over a “dumb” device thatoperates without accounting for sensed data, some sensed data can beincomplete or inconclusive when considered in isolation, i.e., withoutthe context of the type of surgical procedure being performed or thetype of tissue that is being operated on. Without knowing the proceduralcontext (e.g., knowing the type of tissue being operated on or the typeof procedure being performed), the control algorithm may control themodular device incorrectly or sub optimally given the particularcontext-free sensed data. For example, the optimal manner for a controlalgorithm to control a surgical instrument in response to a particularsensed parameter can vary according to the particular tissue type beingoperated on. This is due to the fact that different tissue types havedifferent properties (e.g., resistance to tearing) and thus responddifferently to actions taken by surgical instruments. Therefore, it maybe desirable for a surgical instrument to take different actions evenwhen the same measurement for a particular parameter is sensed. As onespecific example, the optimal manner in which to control a surgicalstapling and cutting instrument in response to the instrument sensing anunexpectedly high force to close its end effector will vary dependingupon whether the tissue type is susceptible or resistant to tearing. Fortissues that are susceptible to tearing, such as lung tissue, theinstrument's control algorithm would optimally ramp down the motor inresponse to an unexpectedly high force to close to avoid tearing thetissue. For tissues that are resistant to tearing, such as stomachtissue, the instrument's control algorithm would optimally ramp up themotor in response to an unexpectedly high force to close to ensure thatthe end effector is clamped properly on the tissue. Without knowingwhether lung or stomach tissue has been clamped, the control algorithmmay make a suboptimal decision.

One solution utilizes a surgical hub including a system that isconfigured to derive information about the surgical procedure beingperformed based on data received from various data sources and thencontrol the paired modular devices accordingly. In other words, thesurgical hub is configured to infer information about the surgicalprocedure from received data and then control the modular devices pairedto the surgical hub based upon the inferred context of the surgicalprocedure. FIG. 5 illustrates a diagram of a situationally awaresurgical system 2300, in accordance with at least one aspect of thepresent disclosure. In some exemplifications, the data sources 2326include, for example, the modular devices 2302 (which can includesensors configured to detect parameters associated with the patientand/or the modular device itself), databases 2322 (e.g., an EMR databasecontaining patient records), and patient monitoring devices 2324 (e.g.,a blood pressure (BP) monitor and an electrocardiography (EKG) monitor).The surgical hub 2304 can be configured to derive the contextualinformation pertaining to the surgical procedure from the data basedupon, for example, the particular combination(s) of received data or theparticular order in which the data is received from the data sources2326. The contextual information inferred from the received data caninclude, for example, the type of surgical procedure being performed,the particular step of the surgical procedure that the surgeon isperforming, the type of tissue being operated on, or the body cavitythat is the subject of the procedure. This ability by some aspects ofthe surgical hub 2304 to derive or infer information related to thesurgical procedure from received data can be referred to as “situationalawareness.” In one exemplification, the surgical hub 2304 canincorporate a situational awareness system, which is the hardware and/orprogramming associated with the surgical hub 2304 that derivescontextual information pertaining to the surgical procedure from thereceived data.

The situational awareness system of the surgical hub 2304 can beconfigured to derive the contextual information from the data receivedfrom the data sources 2326 in a variety of different ways. In oneexemplification, the situational awareness system includes a patternrecognition system, or machine learning system (e.g., an artificialneural network), that has been trained on training data to correlatevarious inputs (e.g., data from databases 2322, patient monitoringdevices 2324, and/or modular devices 2302) to corresponding contextualinformation regarding a surgical procedure. In other words, a machinelearning system can be trained to accurately derive contextualinformation regarding a surgical procedure from the provided inputs. Inanother exemplification, the situational awareness system can include alookup table storing pre-characterized contextual information regardinga surgical procedure in association with one or more inputs (or rangesof inputs) corresponding to the contextual information. In response to aquery with one or more inputs, the lookup table can return thecorresponding contextual information for the situational awarenesssystem for controlling the modular devices 2302. In one exemplification,the contextual information received by the situational awareness systemof the surgical hub 2304 is associated with a particular controladjustment or set of control adjustments for one or more modular devices2302. In another exemplification, the situational awareness systemincludes a further machine learning system, lookup table, or other suchsystem, which generates or retrieves one or more control adjustments forone or more modular devices 2302 when provided the contextualinformation as input.

A surgical hub 2304 incorporating a situational awareness systemprovides a number of benefits for the surgical system 2300. One benefitincludes improving the interpretation of sensed and collected data,which would in turn improve the processing accuracy and/or the usage ofthe data during the course of a surgical procedure. To return to aprevious example, a situationally aware surgical hub 2304 coulddetermine what type of tissue was being operated on; therefore, when anunexpectedly high force to close the surgical instrument's end effectoris detected, the situationally aware surgical hub 2304 could correctlyramp up or ramp down the motor of the surgical instrument for the typeof tissue.

As another example, the type of tissue being operated can affect theadjustments that are made to the compression rate and load thresholds ofa surgical stapling and cutting instrument for a particular tissue gapmeasurement. A situationally aware surgical hub 2304 could infer whethera surgical procedure being performed is a thoracic or an abdominalprocedure, allowing the surgical hub 2304 to determine whether thetissue clamped by an end effector of the surgical stapling and cuttinginstrument is lung (for a thoracic procedure) or stomach (for anabdominal procedure) tissue. The surgical hub 2304 could then adjust thecompression rate and load thresholds of the surgical stapling andcutting instrument appropriately for the type of tissue.

As yet another example, the type of body cavity being operated in duringan insufflation procedure can affect the function of a smoke evacuator.A situationally aware surgical hub 2304 could determine whether thesurgical site is under pressure (by determining that the surgicalprocedure is utilizing insufflation) and determine the procedure type.As a procedure type is generally performed in a specific body cavity,the surgical hub 2304 could then control the motor rate of the smokeevacuator appropriately for the body cavity being operated in. Thus, asituationally aware surgical hub 2304 could provide a consistent amountof smoke evacuation for both thoracic and abdominal procedures.

As yet another example, the type of procedure being performed can affectthe optimal energy level at which an ultrasonic surgical instrument orradio frequency (RF) electrosurgical instrument operates. Arthroscopicprocedures, for example, require higher energy levels because the endeffector of the ultrasonic surgical instrument or RF electrosurgicalinstrument is immersed in fluid. A situationally aware surgical hub 2304could determine whether the surgical procedure is an arthroscopicprocedure. The surgical hub 2304 could then adjust the RF power level orthe ultrasonic amplitude of the generator (i.e., “energy level”) tocompensate for the fluid filled environment. Relatedly, the type oftissue being operated on can affect the optimal energy level for anultrasonic surgical instrument or RF electrosurgical instrument tooperate at. A situationally aware surgical hub 2304 could determine whattype of surgical procedure is being performed and then customize theenergy level for the ultrasonic surgical instrument or RFelectrosurgical instrument, respectively, according to the expectedtissue profile for the surgical procedure. Furthermore, a situationallyaware surgical hub 2304 can be configured to adjust the energy level forthe ultrasonic surgical instrument or RF electrosurgical instrumentthroughout the course of a surgical procedure, rather than just on aprocedure-by-procedure basis. A situationally aware surgical hub 2304could determine what step of the surgical procedure is being performedor will subsequently be performed and then update the control algorithmsfor the generator and/or ultrasonic surgical instrument or RFelectrosurgical instrument to set the energy level at a valueappropriate for the expected tissue type according to the surgicalprocedure step.

As yet another example, data can be drawn from additional data sources2326 to improve the conclusions that the surgical hub 2304 draws fromone data source 2326. A situationally aware surgical hub 2304 couldaugment data that it receives from the modular devices 2302 withcontextual information that it has built up regarding the surgicalprocedure from other data sources 2326. For example, a situationallyaware surgical hub 2304 can be configured to determine whetherhemostasis has occurred (i.e., whether bleeding at a surgical site hasstopped) according to video or image data received from a medicalimaging device. However, in some cases the video or image data can beinconclusive. Therefore, in one exemplification, the surgical hub 2304can be further configured to compare a physiologic measurement (e.g.,blood pressure sensed by a BP monitor communicably connected to thesurgical hub 2304) with the visual or image data of hemostasis (e.g.,from a medical imaging device 124 (FIG. 2) communicably coupled to thesurgical hub 2304) to make a determination on the integrity of thestaple line or tissue weld. In other words, the situational awarenesssystem of the surgical hub 2304 can consider the physiologicalmeasurement data to provide additional context in analyzing thevisualization data. The additional context can be useful when thevisualization data may be inconclusive or incomplete on its own.

Another benefit includes proactively and automatically controlling thepaired modular devices 2302 according to the particular step of thesurgical procedure that is being performed to reduce the number of timesthat medical personnel are required to interact with or control thesurgical system 2300 during the course of a surgical procedure. Forexample, a situationally aware surgical hub 2304 could proactivelyactivate the generator to which an RF electrosurgical instrument isconnected if it determines that a subsequent step of the procedurerequires the use of the instrument. Proactively activating the energysource allows the instrument to be ready for use a soon as the precedingstep of the procedure is completed.

As another example, a situationally aware surgical hub 2304 coulddetermine whether the current or subsequent step of the surgicalprocedure requires a different view or degree of magnification on thedisplay according to the feature(s) at the surgical site that thesurgeon is expected to need to view. The surgical hub 2304 could thenproactively change the displayed view (supplied by, e.g., a medicalimaging device for the visualization system 108) accordingly so that thedisplay automatically adjusts throughout the surgical procedure.

As yet another example, a situationally aware surgical hub 2304 coulddetermine which step of the surgical procedure is being performed orwill subsequently be performed and whether particular data orcomparisons between data will be required for that step of the surgicalprocedure. The surgical hub 2304 can be configured to automatically callup data screens based upon the step of the surgical procedure beingperformed, without waiting for the surgeon to ask for the particularinformation.

Another benefit includes checking for errors during the setup of thesurgical procedure or during the course of the surgical procedure. Forexample, a situationally aware surgical hub 2304 could determine whetherthe operating theater is setup properly or optimally for the surgicalprocedure to be performed. The surgical hub 2304 can be configured todetermine the type of surgical procedure being performed, retrieve thecorresponding checklists, product location, or setup needs (e.g., from amemory), and then compare the current operating theater layout to thestandard layout for the type of surgical procedure that the surgical hub2304 determines is being performed. In one exemplification, the surgicalhub 2304 can be configured to compare the list of items for theprocedure (scanned by a scanner, for example) and/or a list of devicespaired with the surgical hub 2304 to a recommended or anticipatedmanifest of items and/or devices for the given surgical procedure. Ifthere are any discontinuities between the lists, the surgical hub 2304can be configured to provide an alert indicating that a particularmodular device 2302, patient monitoring device 2324, and/or othersurgical item is missing. In one exemplification, the surgical hub 2304can be configured to determine the relative distance or position of themodular devices 2302 and patient monitoring devices 2324 via proximitysensors, for example. The surgical hub 2304 can compare the relativepositions of the devices to a recommended or anticipated layout for theparticular surgical procedure. If there are any discontinuities betweenthe layouts, the surgical hub 2304 can be configured to provide an alertindicating that the current layout for the surgical procedure deviatesfrom the recommended layout.

As another example, a situationally aware surgical hub 2304 coulddetermine whether the surgeon (or other medical personnel) was making anerror or otherwise deviating from the expected course of action duringthe course of a surgical procedure. For example, the surgical hub 2304can be configured to determine the type of surgical procedure beingperformed, retrieve the corresponding list of steps or order ofequipment usage (e.g., from a memory), and then compare the steps beingperformed or the equipment being used during the course of the surgicalprocedure to the expected steps or equipment for the type of surgicalprocedure that the surgical hub 2304 determined is being performed. Inone exemplification, the surgical hub 2304 can be configured to providean alert indicating that an unexpected action is being performed or anunexpected device is being utilized at the particular step in thesurgical procedure.

Overall, the situational awareness system for the surgical hub 2304improves surgical procedure outcomes by adjusting the surgicalinstruments (and other modular devices 2302) for the particular contextof each surgical procedure (such as adjusting to different tissue types)and validating actions during a surgical procedure. The situationalawareness system also improves surgeons' efficiency in performingsurgical procedures by automatically suggesting next steps, providingdata, and adjusting displays and other modular devices 2302 in thesurgical theater according to the specific context of the procedure.

Modular Energy System

ORs everywhere in the world are a tangled web of cords, devices, andpeople due to the amount of equipment required to perform surgicalprocedures. Surgical capital equipment tends to be a major contributorto this issue because most surgical capital equipment performs a single,specialized task. Due to their specialized nature and the surgeons'needs to utilize multiple different types of devices during the courseof a single surgical procedure, an OR may be forced to be stocked withtwo or even more pieces of surgical capital equipment, such as energygenerators. Each of these pieces of surgical capital equipment must beindividually plugged into a power source and may be connected to one ormore other devices that are being passed between OR personnel, creatinga tangle of cords that must be navigated. Another issue faced in modernORs is that each of these specialized pieces of surgical capitalequipment has its own user interface and must be independentlycontrolled from the other pieces of equipment within the OR. Thiscreates complexity in properly controlling multiple different devices inconnection with each other and forces users to be trained on andmemorize different types of user interfaces (which may further changebased upon the task or surgical procedure being performed, in additionto changing between each piece of capital equipment). This cumbersome,complex process can necessitate the need for even more individuals to bepresent within the OR and can create danger if multiple devices are notproperly controlled in tandem with each other. Therefore, consolidatingsurgical capital equipment technology into singular systems that areable to flexibly address surgeons' needs to reduce the footprint ofsurgical capital equipment within ORs would simplify the userexperience, reduce the amount of clutter in ORs, and preventdifficulties and dangers associated with simultaneously controllingmultiple pieces of capital equipment. Further, making such systemsexpandable or customizable would allow for new technology to beconveniently incorporated into existing surgical systems, obviating theneed to replace entire surgical systems or for OR personnel to learn newuser interfaces or equipment controls with each new technology.

As described in FIGS. 1-3, a surgical hub 106 can be configured tointerchangeably receive a variety of modules, which can in turninterface with surgical devices (e.g., a surgical instrument or a smokeevacuator) or provide various other functions (e.g., communications). Inone aspect, a surgical hub 106 can be embodied as a modular energysystem 2000, which is illustrated in connection with FIGS. 6-12. Themodular energy system 2000 can include a variety of different modules2001 that are connectable together in a stacked configuration. In oneaspect, the modules 2001 can be both physically and communicably coupledtogether when stacked or otherwise connected together into a singularassembly. Further, the modules 2001 can be interchangeably connectabletogether in different combinations or arrangements. In one aspect, eachof the modules 2001 can include a consistent or universal array ofconnectors disposed along their upper and lower surfaces, therebyallowing any module 2001 to be connected to another module 2001 in anyarrangement (except that, in some aspects, a particular module type,such as the header module 2002, can be configured to serve as theuppermost module within the stack, for example). In an alternativeaspect, the modular energy system 2000 can include a housing that isconfigured to receive and retain the modules 2001, as is shown in FIG.3. The modular energy system 2000 can also include a variety ofdifferent components or accessories that are also connectable to orotherwise associatable with the modules 2001. In another aspect, themodular energy system 2000 can be embodied as a generator module 140(FIG. 3) of a surgical hub 106. In yet another aspect, the modularenergy system 2000 can be a distinct system from a surgical hub 106. Insuch aspects, the modular energy system 2000 can be communicablycouplable to a surgical hub 206 for transmitting and/or receiving datatherebetween.

The modular energy system 2000 can be assembled from a variety ofdifferent modules 2001, some examples of which are illustrated in FIG.6. Each of the different types of modules 2001 can provide differentfunctionality, thereby allowing the modular energy system 2000 to beassembled into different configurations to customize the functions andcapabilities of the modular energy system 2000 by customizing themodules 2001 that are included in each modular energy system 2000. Themodules 2001 of the modular energy system 2000 can include, for example,a header module 2002 (which can include a display screen 2006), anenergy module 2004, a technology module 2040, and a visualization module2042. In the depicted aspect, the header module 2002 is configured toserve as the top or uppermost module within the modular energy systemstack and can thus lack connectors along its top surface. In anotheraspect, the header module 2002 can be configured to be positioned at thebottom or the lowermost module within the modular energy system stackand can thus lack connectors along its bottom surface. In yet anotheraspect, the header module 2002 can be configured to be positioned at anintermediate position within the modular energy system stack and canthus include connectors along both its bottom and top surfaces. Theheader module 2002 can be configured to control the system-wide settingsof each module 2001 and component connected thereto through physicalcontrols 2011 thereon and/or a graphical user interface (GUI) 2008rendered on the display screen 2006. Such settings could include theactivation of the modular energy system 2000, the volume of alerts, thefootswitch settings, the settings icons, the appearance or configurationof the user interface, the surgeon profile logged into the modularenergy system 2000, and/or the type of surgical procedure beingperformed. The header module 2002 can also be configured to providecommunications, processing, and/or power for the modules 2001 that areconnected to the header module 2002. The energy module 2004, which canalso be referred to as a generator module 140 (FIG. 3), can beconfigured to generate one or multiple energy modalities for drivingelectrosurgical and/or ultrasonic surgical instruments connectedthereto. The technology module 2040 can be configured to provideadditional or expanded control algorithms (e.g., electrosurgical orultrasonic control algorithms for controlling the energy output of theenergy module 2004). The visualization module 2042 can be configured tointerface with visualization devices (i.e., scopes) and accordinglyprovide increased visualization capabilities.

The modular energy system 2000 can further include a variety ofaccessories 2029 that are connectable to the modules 2001 forcontrolling the functions thereof or that are otherwise configured towork on conjunction with the modular energy system 2000. The accessories2029 can include, for example, a single-pedal footswitch 2032, adual-pedal footswitch 2034, and a cart 2030 for supporting the modularenergy system 2000 thereon. The footswitches 2032, 2034 can beconfigured to control the activation or function of particular energymodalities output by the energy module 2004, for example.

By utilizing modular components, the depicted modular energy system 2000provides a surgical platform that grows with the availability oftechnology and is customizable to the needs of the facility and/orsurgeons. Further, the modular energy system 2000 supports combo devices(e.g., dual electrosurgical and ultrasonic energy generators) andsupports software-driven algorithms for customized tissue effects. Stillfurther, the surgical system architecture reduces the capital footprintby combining multiple technologies critical for surgery into a singlesystem.

The various modular components utilizable in connection with the modularenergy system 2000 can include monopolar energy generators, bipolarenergy generators, dual electrosurgical/ultrasonic energy generators,display screens, and various other modules and/or other components, someof which are also described above in connection with FIGS. 1-3.

Referring now to FIG. 7A, the header module 2002 can, in some aspects,include a display screen 2006 that renders a GUI 2008 for relayinginformation regarding the modules 2001 connected to the header module2002. In some aspects, the GUI 2008 of the display screen 2006 canprovide a consolidated point of control of all of the modules 2001making up the particular configuration of the modular energy system2000. Various aspects of the GUI 2008 are discussed in fuller detailbelow in connection with FIG. 12. In alternative aspects, the headermodule 2002 can lack the display screen 2006 or the display screen 2006can be detachably connected to the housing 2010 of the header module2002. In such aspects, the header module 2002 can be communicablycouplable to an external system that is configured to display theinformation generated by the modules 2001 of the modular energy system2000. For example, in robotic surgical applications, the modular energysystem 2000 can be communicably couplable to a robotic cart or roboticcontrol console, which is configured to display the informationgenerated by the modular energy system 2000 to the operator of therobotic surgical system. As another example, the modular energy system2000 can be communicably couplable to a mobile display that can becarried or secured to a surgical staff member for viewing thereby. Inyet another example, the modular energy system 2000 can be communicablycouplable to a surgical hub 2100 or another computer system that caninclude a display 2104, as is illustrated in FIG. 11. In aspectsutilizing a user interface that is separate from or otherwise distinctfrom the modular energy system 2000, the user interface can bewirelessly connectable with the modular energy system 2000 as a whole orone or more modules 2001 thereof such that the user interface candisplay information from the connected modules 2001 thereon.

Referring still to FIG. 7A, the energy module 2004 can include a portassembly 2012 including a number of different ports configured todeliver different energy modalities to corresponding surgicalinstruments that are connectable thereto. In the particular aspectillustrated in FIGS. 6-12, the port assembly 2012 includes a bipolarport 2014, a first monopolar port 2016 a, a second monopolar port 2016b, a neutral electrode port 2018 (to which a monopolar return pad isconnectable), and a combination energy port 2020. However, thisparticular combination of ports is simply provided for illustrativepurposes and alternative combinations of ports and/or energy modalitiesmay be possible for the port assembly 2012.

As noted above, the modular energy system 2000 can be assembled intodifferent configurations. Further, the different configurations of themodular energy system 2000 can also be utilizable for different surgicalprocedure types and/or different tasks. For example, FIGS. 7A and 7Billustrate a first illustrative configuration of the modular energysystem 2000 including a header module 2002 (including a display screen2006) and an energy module 2004 connected together. Such a configurationcan be suitable for laparoscopic and open surgical procedures, forexample.

FIG. 8A illustrates a second illustrative configuration of the modularenergy system 2000 including a header module 2002 (including a displayscreen 2006), a first energy module 2004 a, and a second energy module2004 b connected together. By stacking two energy modules 2004 a, 2004b, the modular energy system 2000 can provide a pair of port assemblies2012 a, 2012 b for expanding the array of energy modalities deliverableby the modular energy system 2000 from the first configuration. Thesecond configuration of the modular energy system 2000 can accordinglyaccommodate more than one bipolar/monopolar electrosurgical instrument,more than two bipolar/monopolar electrosurgical instruments, and so on.Such a configuration can be suitable for particularly complexlaparoscopic and open surgical procedures. FIG. 8B illustrates a thirdillustrative configuration that is similar to the second configuration,except that the header module 2002 lacks a display screen 2006. Thisconfiguration can be suitable for robotic surgical applications ormobile display applications, as noted above.

FIG. 9 illustrates a fourth illustrative configuration of the modularenergy system 2000 including a header module 2002 (including a displayscreen 2006), a first energy module 2004 a, a second energy module 2004b, and a technology module 2040 connected together. Such a configurationcan be suitable for surgical applications where particularly complex orcomputation-intensive control algorithms are required. Alternatively,the technology module 2040 can be a newly released module thatsupplements or expands the capabilities of previously released modules(such as the energy module 2004).

FIG. 10 illustrates a fifth illustrative configuration of the modularenergy system 2000 including a header module 2002 (including a displayscreen 2006), a first energy module 2004 a, a second energy module 2004b, a technology module 2040, and a visualization module 2042 connectedtogether. Such a configuration can be suitable for endoscopic proceduresby providing a dedicated surgical display 2044 for relaying the videofeed from the scope coupled to the visualization module 2042. It shouldbe noted that the configurations illustrated in FIGS. 7A-11 anddescribed above are provided simply to illustrate the various conceptsof the modular energy system 2000 and should not be interpreted to limitthe modular energy system 2000 to the particular aforementionedconfigurations.

As noted above, the modular energy system 2000 can be communicablycouplable to an external system, such as a surgical hub 2100 asillustrated in FIG. 11. Such external systems can include a displayscreen 2104 for displaying a visual feed from an endoscope (or a cameraor another such visualization device) and/or data from the modularenergy system 2000. Such external systems can also include a computersystem 2102 for performing calculations or otherwise analyzing datagenerated or provided by the modular energy system 2000, controlling thefunctions or modes of the modular energy system 2000, and/or relayingdata to a cloud computing system or another computer system. Suchexternal systems could also coordinate actions between multiple modularenergy systems 2000 and/or other surgical systems (e.g., a visualizationsystem 108 and/or a robotic system 110 as described in connection withFIGS. 1 and 2).

Referring now to FIG. 12, in some aspects, the header module 2002 caninclude or support a display 2006 configured for displaying a GUI 2008,as noted above. The display screen 2006 can include a touchscreen forreceiving input from users in addition to displaying information. Thecontrols displayed on the GUI 2008 can correspond to the module(s) 2001that are connected to the header module 2002. In some aspects, differentportions or areas of the GUI 2008 can correspond to particular modules2001. For example, a first portion or area of the GUI 2008 cancorrespond to a first module and a second portion or area of the GUI2008 can correspond to a second module. As different and/or additionalmodules 2001 are connected to the modular energy system stack, the GUI2008 can adjust to accommodate the different and/or additional controlsfor each newly added module 2001 or remove controls for each module 2001that is removed. Each portion of the display corresponding to aparticular module connected to the header module 2002 can displaycontrols, data, user prompts, and/or other information corresponding tothat module. For example, in FIG. 12, a first or upper portion 2052 ofthe depicted GUI 2008 displays controls and data associated with anenergy module 2004 that is connected to the header module 2002. Inparticular, the first portion 2052 of the GUI 2008 for the energy module2004 provides first widget 2056 a corresponding to the bipolar port2014, a second widget 2056 b corresponding to the first monopolar port2016 a, a third widget 2056 c corresponding to the second monopolar port2016 b, and a fourth widget 2056 d corresponding to the combinationenergy port 2020. Each of these widgets 2056 a-d provides data relatedto its corresponding port of the port assembly 2012 and controls forcontrolling the modes and other features of the energy modalitydelivered by the energy module 2004 through the respective port of theport assembly 2012. For example, the widgets 2056 a-d can be configuredto display the power level of the surgical instrument connected to therespective port, change the operational mode of the surgical instrumentconnected to the respective port (e.g., change a surgical instrumentfrom a first power level to a second power level and/or change amonopolar surgical instrument from a “spray” mode to a “blend” mode),and so on.

In one aspect, the header module 2002 can include various physicalcontrols 2011 in addition to or in lieu of the GUI 2008. Such physicalcontrols 2011 can include, for example, a power button that controls theapplication of power to each module 2001 that is connected to the headermodule 2002 in the modular energy system 2000. Alternatively, the powerbutton can be displayed as part of the GUI 2008. Therefore, the headermodule 2002 can serve as a single point of contact and obviate the needto individually activate and deactivate each individual module 2001 fromwhich the modular energy system 2000 is constructed.

In one aspect, the header module 2002 can display still images, videos,animations, and/or information associated with the surgical modules 2001of which the modular energy system 2000 is constructed or the surgicaldevices that are communicably coupled to the modular energy system 2000.The still images and/or videos displayed by the header module 2002 canbe received from an endoscope or another visualization device that iscommunicably coupled to the modular energy system 2000. The animationsand/or information of the GUI 2008 can be overlaid on or displayedadjacent to the images or video feed.

In one aspect, the modules 2001 other than the header module 2002 can beconfigured to likewise relay information to users. For example, theenergy module 2004 can include light assemblies 2015 disposed about eachof the ports of the port assembly 2012. The light assemblies 2015 can beconfigured to relay information to the user regarding the port accordingto their color or state (e.g., flashing). For example, the lightassemblies 2015 can change from a first color to a second color when aplug is fully seated within the respective port. In one aspect, thecolor or state of the light assemblies 2015 can be controlled by theheader module 2002. For example, the header module 2002 can cause thelight assembly 2015 of each port to display a color corresponding to thecolor display for the port on the GUI 2008.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of a stand-alone hub configuration of amodular energy system 3000, in accordance with at least one aspect ofthe present disclosure and FIG. 14 is a block diagram of a hubconfiguration of a modular energy system 3000 integrated with a surgicalcontrol system 3010, in accordance with at least one aspect of thepresent disclosure. As depicted in FIGS. 13 and 14, the modular energysystem 3000 can be either utilized as stand-alone units or integratedwith a surgical control system 3010 that controls and/or receives datafrom one or more surgical hub units. In the examples illustrated inFIGS. 13 and 14, the integrated header/UI module 3002 of the modularenergy system 3000 includes a header module and a UI module integratedtogether as a singular module. In other aspects, the header module andthe UI module can be provided as separate components that arecommunicatively coupled though a data bus 3008.

As illustrated in FIG. 13, an example of a stand-alone modular energysystem 3000 includes an integrated header module/user interface (UI)module 3002 coupled to an energy module 3004. Power and data aretransmitted between the integrated header/UI module 3002 and the energymodule 3004 through a power interface 3006 and a data interface 3008.For example, the integrated header/UI module 3002 can transmit variouscommands to the energy module 3004 through the data interface 3008. Suchcommands can be based on user inputs from the UI. As a further example,power may be transmitted to the energy module 3004 through the powerinterface 3006.

In FIG. 14, a surgical hub configuration includes a modular energysystem 3000 integrated with a control system 3010 and an interfacesystem 3022 for managing, among other things, data and powertransmission to and/or from the modular energy system 3000. The modularenergy system depicted in FIG. 14 includes an integrated headermodule/UI module 3002, a first energy module 3004, and a second energymodule 3012. In one example, a data transmission pathway is establishedbetween the system control unit 3024 of the control system 3010 and thesecond energy module 3012 through the first energy module 3004 and theheader/UI module 3002 through a data interface 3008. In addition, apower pathway extends between the integrated header/UI module 3002 andthe second energy module 3012 through the first energy module 3004through a power interface 3006. In other words, in one aspect, the firstenergy module 3004 is configured to function as a power and datainterface between the second energy module 3012 and the integratedheader/UI module 3002 through the power interface 3006 and the datainterface 3008. This arrangement allows the modular energy system 3000to expand by seamlessly connecting additional energy modules to energymodules 3004, 3012 that are already connected to the integratedheader/UI module 3002 without the need for dedicated power and energyinterfaces within the integrated header/UI module 3002.

The system control unit 3024, which may be referred to herein as acontrol circuit, control logic, microprocessor, microcontroller, logic,or FPGA, or various combinations thereof, is coupled to the systeminterface 3022 via energy interface 3026 and instrument communicationinterface 3028. The system interface 3022 is coupled to the first energymodule 3004 via a first energy interface 3014 and a first instrumentcommunication interface 3016. The system interface 3022 is coupled tothe second energy module 3012 via a second energy interface 3018 and asecond instrument communication interface 3020. As additional modules,such as additional energy modules, are stacked in the modular energysystem 3000, additional energy and communications interfaces areprovided between the system interface 3022 and the additional modules.

The energy modules 3004, 3012 are connectable to a hub and can beconfigured to generate electrosurgical energy (e.g., bipolar ormonopolar), ultrasonic energy, or a combination thereof (referred toherein as an “advanced energy” module) for a variety of energy surgicalinstruments. Generally, the energy modules 3004, 3012 includehardware/software interfaces, an ultrasonic controller, an advancedenergy RF controller, bipolar RF controller, and control algorithmsexecuted by the controller that receives outputs from the controller andcontrols the operation of the various energy modules 3004, 3012accordingly. In various aspects of the present disclosure, thecontrollers described herein may be implemented as a control circuit,control logic, microprocessor, microcontroller, logic, or FPGA, orvarious combinations thereof.

FIGS. 15-17 are block diagrams of various modular energy systemsconnected together to form a hub, in accordance with at least one aspectof the present disclosure. FIGS. 15-17 depict various diagrams (e.g.,circuit or control diagrams) of hub modules. The modular energy system3000 includes multiple energy modules 3004 (FIG. 16), 3012 (FIG. 17), aheader module 3150 (FIG. 17), a UI module 3030 (FIG. 15), and acommunications module 3032 (FIG. 15), in accordance with at least oneaspect of the present disclosure. The UI module 3030 includes a touchscreen 3046 displaying various relevant information and various usercontrols for controlling one or more parameters of the modular energysystem 3000. The UI module 3030 is attached to the top header module3150, but is separately housed so that it can be manipulatedindependently of the header module 3150. For example, the UI module 3030can be picked up by a user and/or reattached to the header module 3150.Additionally, or alternatively, the UI module 3030 can be slightly movedrelative to the header module 3150 to adjust its position and/ororientation. For example, the UI module 3030 can be tilted and/orrotated relative to the header module 3150.

In some aspects, the various hub modules can include light piping aroundthe physical ports to communicate instrument status and also connecton-screen elements to corresponding instruments. Light piping is oneexample of an illumination technique that may be employed to alert auser to a status of a surgical instrument attached/connected to aphysical port. In one aspect, illuminating a physical port with aparticular light directs a user to connect a surgical instrument to thephysical port. In another example, illuminating a physical port with aparticular light alerts a user to an error related an existingconnection with a surgical instrument.

Turning to FIG. 15, there is shown a block diagram of a user interface(UI) module 3030 coupled to a communications module 3032 via apass-through hub connector 3034, in accordance with at least one aspectof the present disclosure. The UI module 3030 is provided as a separatecomponent from a header module 3150 (shown in FIG. 17) and may becommunicatively coupled to the header module 3150 via a communicationsmodule 3032, for example. In one aspect, the UI module 3030 can includea UI processor 3040 that is configured to represent declarativevisualizations and behaviors received from other connected modules, aswell as perform other centralized UI functionality, such as systemconfiguration (e.g., language selection, module associations, etc.). TheUI processor 3040 can be, for example, a processor or system on module(SOM) running a framework such as Qt, .NET WPF, Web server, or similar.

In the illustrated example, the UI module 3030 includes a touchscreen3046, a liquid crystal display 3048 (LCD), and audio output 3052 (e.g.,speaker, buzzer). The UI processor 3040 is configured to receivetouchscreen inputs from a touch controller 3044 coupled between thetouch screen 3046 and the UI processor 3040. The UI processor 3040 isconfigured to output visual information to the LCD display 3048 and tooutput audio information the audio output 3052 via an audio amplifier3050. The UI processor 3040 is configured to interface to thecommunications module 3032 via a switch 3042 coupled to the pass-throughhub connector 3034 to receive, process, and forward data from the sourcedevice to the destination device and control data communicationtherebetween. DC power is supplied to the UI module 3030 via DC/DCconverter modules 3054. The DC power is passed through the pass-throughhub connector 3034 to the communications module 3032 through the powerbus 3006. Data is passed through the pass-through hub connector 3034 tothe communications module 3032 through the data bus 3008. Switches 3042,3056 receive, process, and forward data from the source device to thedestination device.

Continuing with FIG. 15, the communications module 3032, as well asvarious surgical hubs and/or surgical systems can include a gateway 3058that is configured to shuttle select traffic (i.e., data) between twodisparate networks (e.g., an internal network and/or a hospital network)that are running different protocols. The communications module 3032includes a first pass-through hub connector 3036 to couple thecommunications module 3032 to other modules. In the illustrated example,the communications module 3032 is coupled to the UI module 3030. Thecommunications module 3032 is configured to couple to other modules(e.g., energy modules) via a second pass-through hub connector 3038 tocouple the communications module 3032 to other modules via a switch 3056disposed between the first and second pass-through hub connectors 3036,3038 to receive, process, and forward data from the source device to thedestination device and control data communication therebetween. Theswitch 3056 also is coupled to a gateway 3058 to communicate informationbetween external communications ports and the UI module 3030 and otherconnected modules. The gateway 3058 may be coupled to variouscommunications modules such as, for example, an Ethernet module 3060 tocommunicate to a hospital or other local network, a universal serial bus(USB) module 3062, a WiFi module 3064, and a Bluetooth module 3066,among others. The communications modules may be physical boards locatedwithin the communications module 3032 or may be a port to couple toremote communications boards.

In some aspects, all of the modules (i.e., detachable hardware) arecontrolled by a single UI module 3030 that is disposed on or integral toa header module. FIG. 17 shows a stand alone header module 3150 to whichthe UI module 3030 can be attached. FIGS. 13, 14, and 18 show anintegrated header/UI Module 3002. Returning now to FIG. 15, in variousaspects, by consolidating all of the modules into a single, responsiveUI module 3002, the system provides a simpler way to control and monitormultiple pieces of equipment at once. This approach drastically reducesfootprint and complexity in an operating room (OR).

Turning to FIG. 16, there is shown a block diagram of an energy module3004, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.The communications module 3032 (FIG. 15) is coupled to the energy module3004 via the second pass-through hub connector 3038 of thecommunications module 3032 and a first pass-through hub connector 3074of the energy module 3004. The energy module 3004 may be coupled toother modules, such as a second energy module 3012 shown in FIG. 17, viaa second pass-through hub connector 3078. Turning back to FIG. 16, aswitch 3076 disposed between the first and second pass-through hubconnectors 3074, 3078 receives, processes, and forwards data from thesource device to the destination device and controls data communicationtherebetween. Data is received and transmitted through the data bus3008. The energy module 3032 includes a controller 3082 to controlvarious communications and processing functions of the energy module3004.

DC power is received and transmitted by the energy module 3004 throughthe power bus 3006. The power bus 3006 is coupled to DC/DC convertermodules 3138 to supply power to adjustable regulators 3084, 3107 andisolated DC/DC converter ports 3096, 3112, 3132.

In one aspect, the energy module 3004 can include an ultrasonic widebandamplifier 3086, which in one aspect may be a linear class H amplifierthat is capable of generating arbitrary waveforms and drive harmonictransducers at low total harmonic distortion (THD) levels. Theultrasonic wideband amplifier 3086 is fed by a buck adjustable regulator3084 to maximize efficiency and controlled by the controller 3082, whichmay be implemented as a digital signal processor (DSP) via a directdigital synthesizer (DDS), for example. The DDS can either be embeddedin the DSP or implemented in the field-programmable gate array (FPGA),for example. The controller 3082 controls the ultrasonic widebandamplifier 3086 via a digital-to-analog converter 3106 (DAC). The outputof the ultrasonic wideband amplifier 3086 is fed to an ultrasonic powertransformer 3088, which is coupled to an ultrasonic energy outputportion of an advanced energy receptacle 3100. Ultrasonic voltage (V)and current (I) feedback (FB) signals, which may be employed to computeultrasonic impedance, are fed back to the controller 3082 via anultrasonic VI FB transformer 3092 through an input portion of theadvanced energy receptacle 3100. The ultrasonic voltage and currentfeedback signals are routed back to the controller 3082 through ananalog-to-digital converter 3102 (A/D). Also coupled to the controller3082 through the advanced energy receptacle 3100 is the isolated DC/DCconverter port 3096, which receives DC power from the power bus 3006,and a medium bandwidth data port 3098.

In one aspect, the energy module 3004 can include a wideband RF poweramplifier 3108, which in one aspect may be a linear class H amplifierthat is capable of generating arbitrary waveforms and drive RF loads ata range of output frequencies. The wideband RF power amplifier 3108 isfed by an adjustable buck regulator 3107 to maximize efficiency andcontrolled by the controller 3082, which may be implemented as DSP via aDDS. The DDS can either be embedded in the DSP or implemented in theFPGA, for example. The controller 3082 controls the wideband RFamplifier 3086 via a DAC 3122. The output of the wideband RF poweramplifier 3108 can be fed through RF selection relays 3124. The RFselection relays 3124 are configured to receive and selectively transmitthe output signal of the wideband RF power amplifier 3108 to variousother components of the energy module 3004. In one aspect, the outputsignal of the wideband RF power amplifier 3108 can be fed through RFselection relays 3124 to an RF power transformer 3110, which is coupledto an RF output portion of a bipolar RF energy receptacle 3118. BipolarRF voltage (V) and current (I) feedback (FB) signals, which may beemployed to compute RF impedance, are fed back to the controller 3082via an RF VI FB transformer 3114 through an input portion of the bipolarRF energy receptacle 3118. The RF voltage and current feedback signalsare routed back to the controller 3082 through an A/D 3120. Also coupledto the controller 3082 through the bipolar RF energy receptacle 3118 isthe isolated DC/DC converter port 3112, which receives DC power from thepower bus 3006, and a low bandwidth data port 3116.

As described above, in one aspect, the energy module 3004 can include RFselection relays 3124 driven by the controller 3082 (e.g., FPGA) atrated coil current for actuation and can also be set to a lowerhold-current via pulse-width modulation (PWM) to limit steady-statepower dissipation. Switching of the RF selection relays 3124 is achievedwith force guided (safety) relays and the status of the contact state issensed by the controller 3082 as a mitigation for any single faultconditions. In one aspect, the RF selection relays 3124 are configuredto be in a first state, where an output RF signal received from an RFsource, such as the wideband RF power amplifier 3108, is transmitted toa first component of the energy module 3004, such as the RF powertransformer 3110 of the bipolar energy receptacle 3118. In a secondaspect, the RF selection relays 3124 are configured to be in a secondstate, where an output RF signal received from an RF source, such as thewideband RF power amplifier 3108, is transmitted to a second component,such as an RF power transformer 3128 of a monopolar energy receptacle3136, described in more detail below. In a general aspect, the RFselection relays 3124 are configured to be driven by the controller 3082to switch between a plurality of states, such as the first state and thesecond state, to transmit the output RF signal received from the RFpower amplifier 3108 between different energy receptacles of the energymodule 3004.

As described above, the output of the wideband RF power amplifier 3108can also fed through the RF selection relays 3124 to the wideband RFpower transformer 3128 of the RF monopolar receptacle 3136. Monopolar RFvoltage (V) and current (I) feedback (FB) signals, which may be employedto compute RF impedance, are fed back to the controller 3082 via an RFVI FB transformer 3130 through an input portion of the monopolar RFenergy receptacle 3136. The RF voltage and current feedback signals arerouted back to the controller 3082 through an A/D 3126. Also coupled tothe controller 3082 through the monopolar RF energy receptacle 3136 isthe isolated DC/DC converter port 3132, which receives DC power from thepower bus 3006, and a low bandwidth data port 3134.

The output of the wideband RF power amplifier 3108 can also fed throughthe RF selection relays 3124 to the wideband RF power transformer 3090of the advanced energy receptacle 3100. RF voltage (V) and current (I)feedback (FB) signals, which may be employed to compute RF impedance,are fed back to the controller 3082 via an RF VI FB transformer 3094through an input portion of the advanced energy receptacle 3100. The RFvoltage and current feedback signals are routed back to the controller3082 through an A/D 3104.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram of a second energy module 3012 coupled to aheader module 3150, in accordance with at least one aspect of thepresent disclosure. The first energy module 3004 shown in FIG. 16 iscoupled to the second energy module 3012 shown in FIG. 17 by couplingthe second pass-through hub connector 3078 of the first energy module3004 to a first pass-through hub connector 3074 of the second energymodule 3012. In one aspect, the second energy module 3012 can a similarenergy module to the first energy module 3004, as is illustrated in FIG.17. In another aspect, the second energy module 2012 can be a differentenergy module compared to the first energy module, such as an energymodule illustrated in FIG. 19, described in more detail. The addition ofthe second energy module 3012 to the first energy module 3004 addsfunctionality to the modular energy system 3000.

The second energy module 3012 is coupled to the header module 3150 byconnecting the pass-through hub connector 3078 to the pass-through hubconnector 3152 of the header module 3150. In one aspect, the headermodule 3150 can include a header processor 3158 that is configured tomanage a power button function 3166, software upgrades through theupgrade USB module 3162, system time management, and gateway to externalnetworks (i.e., hospital or the cloud) via an Ethernet module 3164 thatmay be running different protocols. Data is received by the headermodule 3150 through the pass-through hub connector 3152. The headerprocessor 3158 also is coupled to a switch 3160 to receive, process, andforward data from the source device to the destination device andcontrol data communication therebetween. The header processor 3158 alsois coupled to an OTS power supply 3156 coupled to a mains power entrymodule 3154.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram of a header/user interface (UI) module 3002for a hub, such as the header module depicted in FIG. 15, in accordancewith at least one aspect of the present disclosure. The header/UI module3002 includes a header power module 3172, a header wireless module 3174,a header USB module 3176, a header audio/screen module 3178, a headernetwork module 3180 (e.g., Ethernet), a backplane connector 3182, aheader standby processor module 3184, and a header footswitch module3186. These functional modules interact to provide the header/UI 3002functionality. A header/UI controller 3170 controls each of thefunctional modules and the communication therebetween including safetycritical control logic modules 3230, 3232 coupled between the header/UIcontroller 3170 and an isolated communications module 3234 coupled tothe header footswitch module 3186. A security co-processor 3188 iscoupled to the header/UI controller 3170.

The header power module 3172 includes a mains power entry module 3190coupled to an OTS power supply unit 3192 (PSU). Low voltage directcurrent (e.g., 5V) standby power is supplied to the header/UI module3002 and other modules through a low voltage power bus 3198 from the OTSPSU 3192. High voltage direct current (e.g., 60V) is supplied to theheader/UI module 3002 through a high voltage bus 3200 from the OTS PSU3192. The high voltage DC supplies DC/DC converter modules 3196 as wellas isolated DC/DC converter modules 3236. A standby processor 3204 ofthe header/standby module 3184 provides a PSU/enable signal 3202 to theOTS PSU 3192.

The header wireless module 3174 includes a WiFi module 3212 and aBluetooth module 3214. Both the WiFi module 3212 and the Bluetoothmodule 3214 are coupled to the header/UI controller 3170. The Bluetoothmodule 3214 is used to connect devices without using cables and the WiFimodule 3212 provides high-speed access to networks such as the Internetand can be employed to create a wireless network that can link multipledevices such as, for examples, multiple energy modules or other modulesand surgical instruments, among other devices located in the operatingroom. Bluetooth is a wireless technology standard that is used toexchange data over short distances, such as, less than 30 feet.

The header USB module 3176 includes a USB port 3216 coupled to theheader/UI controller 3170. The USB module 3176 provides a standard cableconnection interface for modules and other electronics devices overshort-distance digital data communications. The USB module 3176 allowsmodules comprising USB devices to be connected to each other with andtransfer digital data over USB cables.

The header audio/screen module 3178 includes a touchscreen 3220 coupledto a touch controller 3218. The touch controller 3218 is coupled to theheader/UI controller 3170 to read inputs from the touchscreen 3220. Theheader/UI controller 3170 drives an LCD display 3224 through adisplay/port video output signal 3222. The header/UI controller 3170 iscoupled to an audio amplifier 3226 to drive one or more speakers 3228.

In one aspect, the header/UI module 3002 provides a touchscreen 3220user interface configured to control modules connected to one control orheader module 3002 in a modular energy system 3000. The touchscreen 3220can be used to maintain a single point of access for the user to adjustall modules connected within the modular energy system 3000. Additionalhardware modules (e.g., a smoke evacuation module) can appear at thebottom of the user interface LCD display 3224 when they become connectedto the header/UI module 3002, and can disappear from the user interfaceLCD display 3224 when they are disconnected from the header/UI module3002.

Further, the user touchscreen 3220 can provide access to the settings ofmodules attached to the modular energy system 3000. Further, the userinterface LCD display 3224 arrangement can be configured to changeaccording to the number and types of modules that are connected to theheader/UI module 3002. For example, a first user interface can bedisplayed on the LCD display 3224 for a first application where oneenergy module and one smoke evacuation module are connected to theheader/UI module 3002, and a second user interface can be displayed onthe LCD display 3224 for a second application where two energy modulesare connected to the header/UI module 3002. Further, the user interfacecan alter its display on the LCD display 3224 as modules are connectedand disconnected from the modular energy system 3000.

In one aspect, the header/UI module 3002 provides a user interface LCDdisplay 3224 configured to display on the LCD display coloringcorresponds to the port lighting. In one aspect, the coloring of theinstrument panel and the LED light around its corresponding port will bethe same or otherwise correspond with each other. Each color can, forexample, convey a unique meaning. This way, the user will be able toquickly assess which instrument the indication is referring to and thenature of the indication. Further, indications regarding an instrumentcan be represented by the changing of color of the LED light linedaround its corresponding port and the coloring of its module. Stillfurther, the message on screen and hardware/software port alignment canalso serve to convey that an action must be taken on the hardware, noton the interface. In various aspects, all other instruments can be usedwhile alerts are occurring on other instruments. This allows the user tobe able to quickly assess which instrument the indication is referringto and the nature of the indication.

In one aspect, the header/UI module 3002 provides a user interfacescreen configured to display on the LCD display 3224 to presentprocedure options to a user. In one aspect, the user interface can beconfigured to present the user with a series of options (which can bearranged, e.g., from broad to specific). After each selection is made,the modular energy system 3000 presents the next level until allselections are complete. These settings could be managed locally andtransferred via a secondary means (such as a USB thumb drive).Alternatively, the settings could be managed via a portal andautomatically distributed to all connected systems in the hospital.

The procedure options can include, for example, a list of factory presetoptions categorized by specialty, procedure, and type of procedure. Uponcompleting a user selection, the header module can be configured to setany connected instruments to factory-preset settings for that specificprocedure. The procedure options can also include, for example, a listof surgeons, then subsequently, the specialty, procedure, and type. Oncea user completes a selection, the system may suggest the surgeon'spreferred instruments and set those instrument's settings according tothe surgeon's preference (i.e., a profile associated with each surgeonstoring the surgeon's preferences).

In one aspect, the header/UI module 3002 provides a user interfacescreen configured to display on the LCD display 3224 critical instrumentsettings. In one aspect, each instrument panel displayed on the LCDdisplay 3224 of the user interface corresponds, in placement andcontent, to the instruments plugged into the modular energy system 3000.When a user taps on a panel, it can expand to reveal additional settingsand options for that specific instrument and the rest of the screen can,for example, darken or otherwise be de-emphasized.

In one aspect, the header/UI module 3002 provides an instrument settingspanel of the user interface configured to comprise/display controls thatare unique to an instrument and allow the user to increase or decreasethe intensity of its output, toggle certain functions, pair it withsystem accessories like a footswitch connected to header footswitchmodule 3186, access advanced instrument settings, and find additionalinformation about the instrument. In one aspect, the user can tap/selectan “Advanced Settings” control to expand the advanced settings drawerdisplayed on the user interface LCD display 3224. In one aspect, theuser can then tap/select an icon at the top right-hand corner of theinstrument settings panel or tap anywhere outside of the panel and thepanel will scale back down to its original state. In these aspects, theuser interface is configured to display on the LCD display 3224 only themost critical instrument settings, such as power level and power mode,on the ready/home screen for each instrument panel. This is to maximizethe size and readability of the system from a distance. In some aspects,the panels and the settings within can be scaled proportionally to thenumber of instruments connected to the system to further improvereadability. As more instruments are connected, the panels scale toaccommodate a greater amount of information.

The header network module 3180 includes a plurality of networkinterfaces 3264, 3266, 3268 (e.g., Ethernet) to network the header/UImodule 3002 to other modules of the modular energy system 3000. In theillustrated example, one network interface 3264 may be a 3rd partynetwork interface, another network interface 3266 may be a hospitalnetwork interface, and yet another network interface 3268 may be locatedon the backplane network interface connector 3182.

The header standby processor module 3184 includes a standby processor3204 coupled to an On/Off switch 3210. The standby processor 3204conducts an electrical continuity test by checking to see if electricalcurrent flows in a continuity loop 3206. The continuity test isperformed by placing a small voltage across the continuity loop 3206. Aserial bus 3208 couples the standby processor 3204 to the backplaneconnector 3182.

The header footswitch module 3186 includes a controller 3240 coupled toa plurality of analog footswitch ports 3254, 3256, 3258 through aplurality of corresponding presence/ID and switch state modules 3242,3244, 3246, respectively. The controller 3240 also is coupled to anaccessory port 3260 via a presence/ID and switch state module 3248 and atransceiver module 3250. The accessory port 3260 is powered by anaccessory power module 3252. The controller 3240 is coupled to header/UIcontroller 3170 via an isolated communication module 3234 and first andsecond safety critical control modules 3230, 3232. The header footswitchmodule 3186 also includes DC/DC converter modules 3238.

In one aspect, the header/UI module 3002 provides a user interfacescreen configured to display on the LCD display 3224 for controlling afootswitch connected to any one of the analog footswitch ports 3254,3256, 3258. In some aspects, when the user plugs in a non hand-activatedinstrument into any one of the analog footswitch ports 3254, 3256, 3258,the instrument panel appears with a warning icon next to the footswitchicon. The instrument settings can be, for example, greyed out, as theinstrument cannot be activated without a footswitch.

When the user plugs in a footswitch into any one of the analogfootswitch ports 3254, 3256, 3258, a pop-up appears indicating that afootswitch has been assigned to that instrument. The footswitch iconindicates that a footswitch has been plugged in and assigned to theinstrument. The user can then tap/select on that icon to assign,reassign, unassign, or otherwise change the settings associated withthat footswitch. In these aspects, the system is configured toautomatically assign footswitches to non hand-activated instrumentsusing logic, which can further assign single or double-pedalfootswitches to the appropriate instrument. If the user wants toassign/reassign footswitches manually there are two flows that can beutilized.

In one aspect, the header/UI module 3002 provides a global footswitchbutton. Once the user taps on the global footswitch icon (located in theupper right of the user interface LCD display 3224), the footswitchassignment overlay appears and the contents in the instrument modulesdim. A (e.g., photo-realistic) representation of each attachedfootswitch (dual or single-pedal) appears on the bottom if unassigned toan instrument or on the corresponding instrument panel. Accordingly, theuser can drag and drop these illustrations into, and out of, the boxedicons in the footswitch assignment overlay to assign, unassign, andreassign footswitches to their respective instruments.

In one aspect, the header/UI module 3002 provides a user interfacescreen displayed on the LCD display 3224 indicating footswitchauto-assignment, in accordance with at least one aspect of the presentdisclosure. As discussed above, the modular energy system 3000 can beconfigured to auto-assign a footswitch to an instrument that does nothave hand activation. In some aspects, the header/UI module 3002 can beconfigured to correlate the colors displayed on the user interface LCDdisplay 3224 to the lights on the modules themselves as means oftracking physical ports with user interface elements.

In one aspect, the header/UI module 3002 may be configured to depictvarious applications of the user interface with differing number ofmodules connected to the modular energy system 3000. In various aspects,the overall layout or proportion of the user interface elementsdisplayed on the LCD display 3224 can be based on the number and type ofinstruments plugged into the header/UI module 3002. These scalablegraphics can provide the means to utilize more of the screen for bettervisualization.

In one aspect, the header/UI module 3002 may be configured to depict auser interface screen on the LCD display 3224 to indicate which ports ofthe modules connected to the modular energy system 3000 are active. Insome aspects, the header/UI module 3002 can be configured to illustrateactive versus inactive ports by highlighting active ports and dimminginactive ports. In one aspect, ports can be represented with color whenactive (e.g., monopolar tissue cut with yellow, monopolar tissuecoagulation with blue, bipolar tissue cut with blue, advanced energytissue cut with warm white, and so on). Further, the displayed colorwill match the color of the light piping around the ports. The coloringcan further indicate that the user cannot change settings of otherinstruments while an instrument is active. As another example, theheader/UI module 3002 can be configured to depict the bipolar,monopolar, and ultrasonic ports of a first energy module as active andthe monopolar ports of a second energy module as likewise active.

In one aspect, the header/UI module 3002 can be configured to depict auser interface screen on the LCD display 3224 to display a globalsettings menu. In one aspect, the header/UI module 3002 can beconfigured to display a menu on the LCD display 3224 to control globalsettings across any modules connected to the modular energy system 3000.The global settings menu can be, for example, always displayed in aconsistent location (e.g., always available in upper right hand cornerof main screen).

In one aspect, the header/UI module 3002 can be configured to depict auser interface screen on the LCD display 3224 configured to preventchanging of settings while a surgical instrument is in use. In oneexample, the header/UI module 3002 can be configured to prevent settingsfrom being changed via a displayed menu when a connected instrument isactive. The user interface screen can include, for example, an area(e.g., the upper left hand corner) that is reserved for indicatinginstrument activation while a settings menu is open. In one aspect, auser has opened the bipolar settings while monopolar coagulation isactive. In one aspect, the settings menu could then be used once theactivation is complete. In one aspect, the header/UI module 3002 can beis configured to never overlay any menus or other information over thededicated area for indicating critical instrument information in orderto maintain display of critical information.

In one aspect, the header/UI module 3002 can be configured to depict auser interface screen on the LCD display 3224 configured to displayinstrument errors. In one aspect, instrument error warnings may bedisplayed on the instrument panel itself, allowing user to continue touse other instruments while a nurse troubleshoots the error. This allowsusers to continue the surgery without the need to stop the surgery todebug the instrument.

In one aspect, the header/UI module 3002 can be configured to depict auser interface screen on the LCD display 3224 to display different modesor settings available for various instruments. In various aspects, theheader/UI module 3002 can be configured to display settings menus thatare appropriate for the type or application of surgical instrument(s)connected to the stack/hub. Each settings menu can provide options fordifferent power levels, energy delivery profiles, and so on that areappropriate for the particular instrument type. In one aspect, theheader/UI module 3002 can be configured to display different modesavailable for bipolar, monopolar cut, and monopolar coagulationapplications.

In one aspect, the header/UI module 3002 can be configured to depict auser interface screen on the LCD display 3224 to display pre-selectedsettings. In one aspect, the header/UI module 3002 can be configured toreceive selections for the instrument/device settings before plugging ininstruments so that the modular energy system 3000 is ready before thepatient enters the operating room. In one aspect, the user can simplyclick a port and then change the settings for that port. In the depictedaspect, the selected port appears as faded to indicate settings are set,but no instrument is plugged into that port.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram of an energy module 3270 for a hub, such asthe energy module depicted in FIGS. 13, 14, 16, and 17, in accordancewith at least one aspect of the present disclosure. The energy module3270 is configured to couple to a header module, header/UI module, andother energy modules via the first and second pass-through hubconnectors 3272, 3276. A switch 3076 disposed between the first andsecond pass-through hub connectors 3272, 3276 receives, processes, andforwards data from the source device to the destination device andcontrols data communication therebetween. Data is received andtransmitted through the data bus 3008. The energy module 3270 includes acontroller 3082 to control various communications and processingfunctions of the energy module 3270.

DC power is received and transmitted by the energy module 3270 throughthe power bus 3006. The power bus 3006 is coupled to the DC/DC convertermodules 3138 to supply power to adjustable regulators 3084, 3107 andisolated DC/DC converter ports 3096, 3112, 3132.

In one aspect, the energy module 3270 can include an ultrasonic widebandamplifier 3086, which in one aspect may be a linear class H amplifierthat is capable of generating arbitrary waveforms and drive harmonictransducers at low total harmonic distortion (THD) levels. Theultrasonic wideband amplifier 3086 is fed by a buck adjustable regulator3084 to maximize efficiency and controlled by the controller 3082, whichmay be implemented as a digital signal processor (DSP) via a directdigital synthesizer (DDS), for example. The DDS can either be embeddedin the DSP or implemented in the field-programmable gate array (FPGA),for example. The controller 3082 controls the ultrasonic widebandamplifier 3086 via a digital-to-analog converter 3106 (DAC). The outputof the ultrasonic wideband amplifier 3086 is fed to an ultrasonic powertransformer 3088, which is coupled to an ultrasonic energy outputportion of the advanced energy receptacle 3100. Ultrasonic voltage (V)and current (I) feedback (FB) signals, which may be employed to computeultrasonic impedance, are fed back to the controller 3082 via anultrasonic VI FB transformer 3092 through an input portion of theadvanced energy receptacle 3100. The ultrasonic voltage and currentfeedback signals are routed back to the controller 3082 through ananalog multiplexer 3280 and a dual analog-to-digital converter 3278(A/D). In one aspect, the dual A/D 3278 has a sampling rate of 80 MSPS.Also coupled to the controller 3082 through the advanced energyreceptacle 3100 is the isolated DC/DC converter port 3096, whichreceives DC power from the power bus 3006, and a medium bandwidth dataport 3098.

In one aspect, the energy module 3270 can include a plurality ofwideband RF power amplifiers 3108, 3286, 3288, among others, which inone aspect, each of the wideband RF power amplifiers 3108, 3286, 3288may be linear class H amplifiers capable of generating arbitrarywaveforms and drive RF loads at a range of output frequencies. Each ofthe wideband RF power amplifiers 3108, 3286, 3288 are fed by anadjustable buck regulator 3107 to maximize efficiency and controlled bythe controller 3082, which may be implemented as DSP via a DDS. The DDScan either be embedded in the DSP or implemented in the FPGA, forexample. The controller 3082 controls the first wideband RF poweramplifier 3108 via a DAC 3122.

Unlike the energy modules 3004, 3012 shown and described in FIGS. 16 and17, the energy module 3270 does not include RF selection relaysconfigured to receive an RF output signal from the adjustable buckregulator 3107. In addition, unlike the energy modules 3004, 3012 shownand described in FIGS. 16 and 17, the energy module 3270 includes aplurality of wideband RF power amplifiers 3108, 3286, 3288 instead of asingle RF power amplifier. In one aspect, the adjustable buck regulator3107 can switch between a plurality of states, in which the adjustablebuck regulator 3107 outputs an output RF signal to one of the pluralityof wideband RF power amplifiers 3108, 3286, 3288 connected thereto. Thecontroller 3082 is configured to switch the adjustable buck regulator3107 between the plurality of states. In a first state, the controllerdrives the adjustable buck regulator 3107 to output an RF energy signalto the first wideband RF power amplifier 3108. In a second state, thecontroller drives the adjustable buck regulator 3107 to output an RFenergy signal to the second wideband RF power amplifier 3286. In a thirdstate, the controller drives the adjustable buck regulator 3107 tooutput an RF energy signal to the third wideband RF power amplifier3288.

The output of the first wideband RF power amplifier 3108 can be fed toan RF power transformer 3090, which is coupled to an RF output portionof an advanced energy receptacle 3100. RF voltage (V) and current (I)feedback (FB) signals, which may be employed to compute RF impedance,are fed back to the controller 3082 via RF VI FB transformers 3094through an input portion of the advanced energy receptacle 3100. The RFvoltage and current feedback signals are routed back to the controller3082 through the RF VI FB transformers 3094, which are coupled to ananalog multiplexer 3284 and a dual A/D 3282 coupled to the controller3082. In one aspect, the dual A/D 3282 has a sampling rate of 80 MSPS.

The output of the second RF wideband power amplifier 3286 is fed throughan RF power transformer 3128 of the RF monopolar receptacle 3136.Monopolar RF voltage (V) and current (I) feedback (FB) signals, whichmay be employed to compute RF impedance, are fed back to the controller3082 via RF VI FB transformers 3130 through an input portion of themonopolar RF energy receptacle 3136. The RF voltage and current feedbacksignals are routed back to the controller 3082 through the analogmultiplexer 3284 and the dual A/D 3282. Also coupled to the controller3082 through the monopolar RF energy receptacle 3136 is the isolatedDC/DC converter port 3132, which receives DC power from the power bus3006, and a low bandwidth data port 3134.

The output of the third RF wideband power amplifier 3288 is fed throughan RF power transformer 3110 of a bipolar RF receptacle 3118. Bipolar RFvoltage (V) and current (I) feedback (FB) signals, which may be employedto compute RF impedance, are fed back to the controller 3082 via RF VIFB transformers 3114 through an input portion of the bipolar RF energyreceptacle 3118. The RF voltage and current feedback signals are routedback to the controller 3082 through the analog multiplexer 3280 and thedual A/D 3278. Also coupled to the controller 3082 through the bipolarRF energy receptacle 3118 is the isolated DC/DC converter port 3112,which receives DC power from the power bus 3006, and a low bandwidthdata port 3116.

A contact monitor 3290 is coupled to an NE receptacle 3292. Power is fedto the NE receptacle 3292 from the monopolar receptacle 3136.

In one aspect, with reference to FIGS. 13-19, the modular energy system3000 can be configured to detect instrument presence in a receptacle3100, 3118, 3136 via a photo-interrupter, magnetic sensor, or othernon-contact sensor integrated into the receptacle 3100, 3118, 3136. Thisapproach prevents the necessity of allocating a dedicated presence pinon the MTD connector to a single purpose and instead allowsmulti-purpose functionality for MTD signal pins 6-9 while continuouslymonitoring instrument presence.

In one aspect, with reference to FIGS. 13-19, the modules of the modularenergy system 3000 can include an optical link allowing high speedcommunication (10-50 Mb/s) across the patient isolation boundary. Thislink would carry device communications, mitigation signals (watchdog,etc.), and low bandwidth run-time data. In some aspects, the opticallink(s) will not contain real-time sampled data, which can be done onthe non-isolated side.

In one aspect, with reference to FIGS. 13-19, the modules of the modularenergy system 3000 can include a multi-function circuit block which can:(i) read presence resistor values via A/D and current source, (ii)communicate with legacy instruments via hand switch Q protocols, (iii)communicate with instruments via local bus 1-Wire protocols, and (iv)communicate with CAN FD-enabled surgical instruments. When a surgicalinstrument is properly identified by an energy generator module, therelevant pin functions and communications circuits are enabled, whilethe other unused functions are disabled or disconnected and set to ahigh impedance state.

In one aspect, with reference to FIGS. 13-19, the modules of the modularenergy system 3000 can include a pulse/stimulation/auxiliary amplifier.This is a flexible-use amplifier based on a full-bridge output andincorporates functional isolation. This allows its differential outputto be referenced to any output connection on the applied part (except,in some aspects, a monopolar active electrode). The amplifier output canbe either small signal linear (pulse/stim) with waveform drive providedby a DAC or a square wave drive at moderate output power for DCapplications such as DC motors, illumination, FET drive, etc. The outputvoltage and current are sensed with functionally isolated voltage andcurrent feedback to provide accurate impedance and power measurements tothe FPGA. Paired with a CAN FD-enabled instrument, this output can offermotor/motion control drive, while position or velocity feedback isprovided by the CAN FD interface for closed loop control.

As described in greater detail herein, a modular energy system comprisesa header module and one or more functional or surgical modules. Invarious instances, the modular energy system is a modular energy system.In various instances, the surgical modules include energy modules,communication modules, user interface modules; however, the surgicalmodules are envisioned to be any suitable type of functional or surgicalmodule for use with the modular energy system.

Modular energy system offers many advantages in a surgical procedure, asdescribed above in connection with the modular energy systems 2000(FIGS. 6-12), 3000 (FIGS. 13-15). However, cable management andsetup/teardown time can be a significant deterrent. Various aspects ofthe present disclosure provide a modular energy system with a singlepower cable and a single power switch to control startup and shutdown ofthe entire modular energy system, which obviated the need toindividually activate and deactivate each individual module from whichthe modular energy system is constructed. Also, various aspects of thepresent disclosure provide a modular energy system with power managementschemes that facilitate a safe and, in some instances, concurrentdelivery of power to the modules of a modular energy system.

In various aspects, as illustrated in FIG. 20, a modular energy system6000 that is similar in many respects to the modular energy systems 2000(FIGS. 6-12), 3000 (FIGS. 13-15). For the sake of brevity, variousdetails of the modular energy system 6000, which are similar to themodular energy system 2000 and/or the modular energy system 3000, arenot repeated herein.

The modular energy system 6000 comprises a header module 6002 and an “N”number of surgical modules 6004, where “N” is an integer greater than orequal to one. In various examples, the modular energy system 6000includes a UI module such as, for example, the UI module 3030 and/or acommunication module such as, for example, the communication module3032. Furthermore, pass-through hub connectors couple individual modulesto one another in a stack configuration. In the example of FIG. 20, theheader module 6002 is coupled to a surgical module 6004 via pass-throughhub connectors 6005, 6006.

The modular energy system 6000 comprises an example power architecturethat consists of a single AC/DC power supply 6003 that provides power toall the surgical modules in the stack. The AC/DC power supply 6003 ishoused in the header module 6002, and utilizes a power backplane 6008 todistribute power to each module in the stack. The example of FIG. 20demonstrates three separate power domains on the power backplane 6008: aprimary power domain 6009, a standby power domain 6010, and an Ethernetswitch power domain 6013.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 20, the power backplane 6008 extendsfrom the header module 6002 through a number of intermediate modules6004 to a most bottom, or farthest, module in the stack. In variousaspects, the power backplane 6008 is configured to deliver power to asurgical module 6004 through one or more other surgical modules 6004that are ahead of it in the stack. The surgical module 6004 receivingpower from the header module 6002 can be coupled to a surgicalinstrument or tool configured to deliver therapeutic energy to apatient.

The primary power domain 6009 is the primary power source for thefunctional module-specific circuits 6013, 6014, 6015 of the modules6002, 6004. It consists of a single voltage rail that is provided toevery module. In at least one example, a nominal voltage of 60V can beselected to be higher than the local rails needed by any module, so thatthe modules can exclusively implement buck regulation, which isgenerally more efficient than boost regulation.

In various aspects, the primary power domain 6009 is controlled by theheader module 6002. In certain instances, as illustrated in FIG. 20, alocal power switch 6018 is positioned on the header module 6002. Incertain instances, a remote on/off interface 6016 can be configured tocontrol a system power control 6017 on the header module 6002, forexample. In at least one example, the remote on/off interface 6016 isconfigured to transmit pulsed discrete commands (separate commands forOn and Off) and a power status telemetry signal. In various instances,the primary power domain 6009 is configured to distribute power to allthe modules in the stack configuration following a user-initiatedpower-up.

In various aspects, as illustrated in FIG. 21, the modules of themodular energy system 6000 can be communicably coupled to the headermodule 6002 and/or to each other via a communication (Serialbus/Ethernet) interface 6040 such that data or other information isshared by and between the modules of which the modular energy system isconstructed. An Ethernet switch domain 6013 can be derived from theprimary power domain 6009, for example. The Ethernet switch power domain6013 is segregated into a separate power domain, which is configured topower Ethernet switches within each of the modules in the stackconfiguration, so that the primary communications interface 6040 willremain alive when local power to a module is removed. In at least oneexample, the primary communication interface 6040 comprises a 1000BASE-TEthernet network, where each module represents a node on the network,and each module downstream from the header module 6002 contains a 3-portEthernet switch for routing traffic to the local module or passing thedata up or downstream as appropriate.

Furthermore, in certain examples, the modular energy system 6000includes secondary, low speed, communication interface between modulesfor critical, power related functions including module power sequencingand module power status. The secondary communications interface can, forexample, be a multi-drop Local Interconnect Network (LIN), where theheader module is the master and all downstream modules are slaves.

In various aspects, as illustrated in FIG. 20, a standby power domain6010 is a separate output from the AC/DC power supply 6003 that isalways live when the supply is connected to mains power 6020. Thestandby power domain 6010 is used by all the modules in the system topower circuitry for a mitigated communications interface, and to controlthe local power to each module. Further, the standby power domain 6010is configured to provide power to circuitry that is critical in astandby mode such as, for example, on/off command detection, statusLEDs, secondary communication bus, etc.

In various aspects, as illustrated in FIG. 20, the individual surgicalmodules 6004 lack independent power supplies and, as such, rely on theheader module 6002 to supply power in the stack configuration. Only theheader module 6002 is directly connected to the mains power 6020. Thesurgical modules 6004 lack direct connections to the mains power 6020,and can receive power only in the stack configuration. This arrangementimproves the safety of the individual surgical modules 6004, and reducesthe overall footprint of the modular energy system 6000. Thisarrangement further reduces the number of cords required for properoperation of the modular energy system 6000, which can reduce clutterand footprint in the operating room.

Accordingly, a surgical instrument connected to surgical modules 6004 ofa modular energy system 6000, in the stack configuration, receivestherapeutic energy for tissue treatment that is generated by thesurgical module 6004 from power delivered to the surgical module 6004from the AC/DC power supply 6003 of the header module 6002.

In at least one example, while a header module 6002 is assembled in astack configuration with a first surgical module 6004′, energy can flowfrom the AC/DC power supply 6003 to the first surgical module 6004′.Further, while a header module 6002 is assembled in a stackconfiguration with a first surgical module 6004′ (connected to theheader module 6002) and a second surgical module 6004″ (connected to thefirst surgical module 6004′), energy can flow from the AC/DC powersupply 6003 to the second surgical module 6004″ through the firstsurgical module 6004′.

The energy generated by the AC/DC power supply 6003 of the header module6002 is transmitted through a segmented power backplane 6008 definedthrough the modular energy system 6000. In the example of FIG. 20, theheader module 6002 houses a power backplane segment 6008′, the firstsurgical module 6004′ houses a power backplane segment 6008″, and thesecond surgical module 6004″ houses a power backplane segment 6008″. Thepower backplane segment 6008′ is detachably coupled to the powerbackplane segment 6008″ in the stack configuration. Further, the powerbackplane 6008″ is detachably coupled to the power backplane segment6008′″ in the stack configuration. Accordingly, energy flows from theAC/DC power supply 6003 to the power backplane segment 6008′, then tothe power backplane segment 6008″, and then to the power backplanesegment 6008′″.

In the example of FIG. 20, the power backplane segment 6008′ isdetachably connected to the power backplane segment 6008″ viapass-through hub connectors 6005, 6006 in the stack configuration.Further, the power backplane segment 6008″ is detachably connected tothe power backplane segment 6008′″ via pass-through hub connectors 6025,6056 in the stack configuration. In certain instances, removing asurgical module from the stack configuration severs its connection tothe power supply 6003. For example, separating the second surgicalmodule 6004″ from the first surgical module 6004′ disconnects the powerbackplane segment 6008′″ from the power backplane segment 6008″.However, the connection between the power backplane segment 6008″ andthe power backplane segment 6008′″ remains intact as long as the headermodule 6002 and the first surgical module 6004′ remain in the stackconfiguration. Accordingly, energy can still flow to the first surgicalmodule 6004′ after disconnecting the second surgical module 6004″through the connection between the header module 6002 and the firstsurgical module 6004′. Separating connected modules can be achieved, incertain instances, by simply pulling the surgical modules 6004 apart.

In the example of FIG. 20, each of the modules 6002, 6004 includes amitigated module control 6023. The mitigated module controls 6023 arecoupled to corresponding local power regulation modules 6024 that areconfigured to regulate power based on input from the mitigated modulecontrols 6023. In certain aspects, the mitigated module controls 6023allow the header module 6002 to independently control the local powerregulation modules 6024.

The modular energy system 6000 further includes a mitigatedcommunications interface 6021 that includes a segmented communicationbackplane 6027 extending between the mitigated module controls 6023. Thesegmented communication backplane 6027 is similar in many respects tothe segmented power backplane 6008. Mitigated Communication between themitigated module controls 6023 of the header module 6002 and thesurgical modules 6004 can be achieved through the segmentedcommunication backplane 6027 defined through the modular energy system6000. In the example of FIG. 20, the header module 6002 houses acommunication backplane segment 6027′, the first surgical module 6004′houses a communication backplane segment 6027″, and the second surgicalmodule 6004″ houses a communication backplane segment 6027′″. Thecommunication backplane segment 6027′ is detachably coupled to thecommunication backplane segment 6027″ in the stack configuration via thepass-through hub connectors 6005, 6006. Further, the communicationbackplane 6027″ is detachably coupled to the communication backplanesegment 6027″ in the stack configuration via the pass-through hubconnectors 6025, 6026.

Although the example of FIG. 20 depicts a modular energy system 6000includes a header module 6002 and two surgical modules 6004′ 6004″, thisis not limiting. Modular energy systems with more or less surgicalmodules are contemplated by the present disclosure. In some aspects, themodular energy system 6000 includes other modules such as, for example,the communications module 3032 (FIG. 15). In some aspects, the headermodule 6502 supports a display screen such as, for example, the display2006 (FIG. 7A) that renders a GUI such as, for example, the GUI 2008 forrelaying information regarding the modules connected to the headermodule 6002. As described in greater detail in connection with theexample of FIG. 15, in some aspects, the GUI 2008 of the display screen2006 can provide a consolidated point of control all of the modulesmaking up the particular configuration of a modular energy system.

FIG. 21 depicts a simplified schematic diagram of the modular energysystem 6000, which illustrates a primary communications interface 6040between the header module 6002 and the surgical modules 6004. Theprimary communications interface 6040 communicably connects moduleprocessors 6041, 6041′, 6041″ of the header module 6002 and the surgicalmodules 6004. Commands generated by the module processor 6041 of theheader module are transmitted downstream to a desired functionalsurgical module via the primary communications interface 6040. Incertain instances, the primary communications interface 6040 isconfigured to establish a two-way communication pathway betweenneighboring modules. In other instances, the primary communicationsinterface 6040 is configured to establish a one-way communicationpathway between neighboring modules.

Furthermore, the primary communications interface 6040 includes asegmented communication backplane 6031, which is similar in manyrespects to the segmented power backplane 6008. Communication betweenthe header module 6002 and the surgical modules 6004 can be achievedthrough the segmented communication backplane 6031 defined through themodular energy system 6000. In the example of FIG. 21, the header module6002 houses a communication backplane segment 6031′, the first surgicalmodule 6004′ houses a communication backplane segment 6031″, and thesecond surgical module 6004″ houses a communication backplane segment6031′″. The communication backplane segment 6031′ is detachably coupledto the communication backplane segment 6031″ in the stack configurationvia the pass-through hub connectors 6005, 6006. Further, thecommunication backplane 6031″ is detachably coupled to the communicationbackplane segment 6031″ in the stack configuration via the pass-throughhub connectors 6025, 6026.

In at least one example, as illustrated in FIG. 21, the primarycommunications interface 6040 is implemented using the DDS frameworkrunning on a Gigabit Ethernet interface. The module processors 6041,6041′, 6041″ are connected to Gigabit Ethernet Phy 6044, and GigabitEthernet Switches 6042′, 6042″. In the example of FIG. 21, the segmentedcommunication backplane 6031 connects the Gigabit Ethernet Phy 6044 andthe Gigabit Ethernet Switches 6042 of the neighboring modules.

In various aspects, as illustrated in FIG. 21, the header module 6002includes a separate Gigabit Ethernet Phy 6045 for an externalcommunications interface 6043 with the processor module 6041 of theheader module 6002. In at least one example, the processor module 6041of the header module 6002 handles firewalls and information routing.

Referring to FIG. 20, the AC/DC power supply 6003 may provide an ACStatus signal 6011 that indicates a loss of AC power supplied by theAC/DC power supply 6003. The AC status signal 6011 can be provided toall the modules of the modular energy system 6000 via the segmentedpower backplane 6008 to allow each module as much time as possible for agraceful shutdown, before primary output power is lost. The AC statussignal 6011 is received by the module specific circuits 6013, 6014,6015, for example. In various examples, the system power control 6017can be configured to detect AC power loss. In at least one example, theAC power loss is detected via one or more suitable sensors.

Referring to FIGS. 20 and 21, to ensure that a local power failure inone of the modules of the modular energy system 6000 does not disablethe entire power bus, the primary power input to all modules can befused or a similar method of current limiting can be used (e-fuse,circuit breaker, etc.). Further, Ethernet switch power is segregatedinto a separate power domain 6013 so that the primary communicationsinterface 6040 remains alive when local power to a module is removed. Inother words, primary power can be removed and/or diverted from asurgical module without losing its ability to communicate with othersurgical modules 6004 and/or the header module 6002.

User Interface Mitigation Techniques for Modular Energy Systems

Having described a general implementation the header and modules ofmodular energy systems 2000, 3000, 6000, and various surgicalinstruments usable therewith, for example, surgical instruments 2204,2206, and 2208, the disclosure now turns to describe various aspects ofmodular energy systems comprising user interface mitigation techniques.In other aspects, these modular energy systems are substantially similarto the modular energy system 2000, the modular energy system 3000,and/or the modular energy system 6000 described hereinabove. For thesake of brevity, various details of the other modular energy systemsbeing described in the following sections, which are similar to themodular energy system 2000, the modular energy system 3000, and/or themodular energy system 6000, are not repeated herein. Any aspect of theother modular energy systems described below can be brought into themodular energy system 2000, the modular energy system 3000, or themodular energy system 6000.

Audio Identification—Double Clocking Data Circuits

As described hereinbelow with reference to FIGS. 22-24, in variousaspects, the present disclosure provides modular energy systems 2000,3000, 6000 comprising user interface mitigation techniques that audioidentification double clocking data circuits and associated methods formodular energy system 2000, 3000, 6000 accessories.

In various aspects of the present disclosure, there is a need toidentify and confirm audio that a system controller of the modularenergy system 2000, 3000, 6000 is playing through a speaker. This may bedesirable in audio mitigation techniques to confirm compliance withexternal standards. Thus, in various aspects, the present disclosureprovides circuits and associated methods to uniquely identify a digitalaudio data stream sent by a controller of the modular energy system2000, 3000, 6000 to the speakers and confirm that the proper audio datastream was generated by the controller of the modular energy system2000, 3000, 6000.

Digital audio is often transmitted from a controller to an audio outputdevice such as a Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC) through a standardprotocol called I²S. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that theI²S protocol, also known as an Integrated Inter-IC Sound Bus (I²S), is aserial bus interface standard used for connecting digital audio devicestogether. The I²S component operates in master mode only. In one aspect,the present disclosure utilizes sending additional data bits inside astandard I²S data frame that serves to identify a unique tone. Thistechnique leverages the fact that most I²S-compatible DACs only considerdata present in the audio stream on the rising edge of a clock signal.As such, additional data bits can be inserted in the audio data streamat the falling edge of the clock signal. The additional data bits willbe ignored by the DAC but can be read by another controller formitigation purposes.

FIG. 22 is a block diagram of an audio output circuit 4200. The audiooutput circuit 4200 includes a processor 4202 coupled to adigital-to-analog converter (DAC)/amplifier circuit 4220 that drives oneor more than one speaker 4234, 4236 with an audio tone. The processorincludes an audio output control module 4204 and an audio mitigationcontrol module 4206. The audio output control module 4204 and audiomitigation control module 4206 may be implemented in hardware, software,or a combination thereof. In one example, the audio output controlmodule 4204 communicates with the DAC/amplifier circuit 4220 using theI²C serial protocol over a two-wire interface 4208 and control theDAC/amplifier circuit 4220 with hardware control signals 4210. Thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that the I²C (Inter-IntegratedCircuit) protocol is a standard serial, half-duplex, synchronous,multi-master, multi-slave, packet switched, single-ended, serialcommunication bus.

The processor 4202 sends a digital audio clock signal 4256 and a datasignal 4254 to the DAC/amplifier circuit 4220. In one aspect, the datasignal 4254 and clock signal 4256 are transmitted to the DAC/amplifiercircuit 4220 using a I²S protocol. The I²S-compatible DAC/amplifiercircuit 4220 considers data present in the data signal 4254 on therising edge of the clock signal 4256. This mode is a conventional datasignal shown in the upper timing diagram 4250 shown in FIG. 23.

Turning back to FIG. 22, the DAC/amplifier circuit 4220 is coupled toone or more than one speaker 4234, 4236 through one or more than onechannel through a filter 4226, 4228, respectively. In the exampleillustrated in FIG. 22, the DAC/amplifier circuit 4220 includes twoanalog output channels where a first analog output channel is coupled toa first speaker 4234 through a first filter 4226 and as second analogoutput channel is coupled to a second speaker 4236 through a secondfilter 4228. In one aspect, the filter 4226, 4228 may be aninductor/capacitor (LC) filter. A first current shunt 4230 is coupled inseries with the first speaker 4234. A second current shunt 4232 iscoupled in series with the second speaker 4236. In the exampleillustrated in FIG. 22, the analog audio signal is provided over the twoanalog output channels. The first analog channel drives the firstspeaker 4234 and the second analog channel drives the second speaker4236. A first current shunt 4230 is coupled to a first current senseamplifier 4224 which is coupled to a first analog-to-digital converter4218 (ADC) to provide feedback to the audio mitigation control module4206. Similarly, a second current shunt 4232 is coupled to a secondcurrent sense amplifier 4222 which is coupled to a second ADC 4216 toprovide feedback to the audio mitigation control module 4206.Alternatively, the ADCs 4216, 4218 may be replaced with comparatorcircuits.

Activation tones are employed to notify the user that theelectrosurgical/ultrasonic instrument has been energized. In theinstance that the audio software plays an incorrect tone (i.e., a“button click tone” instead of an “activation tone”), there is a need tomitigate the risk of outputting the wrong tone. In one aspect, riskmitigation may be accomplished by adding additional data bits in the I²Saudio signal by the audio mitigation control module 4206 inside thestandard I²S data frame. Thus the data signal comprises additional databits that correspond to a unique tone identification that can be read bythe audio mitigation control module 4206 on the falling edge of theclock signal as explained below in the description of FIGS. 23 and 24.The additional data bits are ignored by the DAC/amplifier circuit 4220,which reads data bits only on the rising edge of the clock signal. Asused herein, electrosurgical/ultrasonic instrument comprises any one ofan electrosurgical instrument that is either monopolar or bipolar, anultrasonic instrument, or an instrument that employs a combination ofelectrosurgical and ultrasonic energy, coupled to the energy module 2004of the modular energy system 2000.

FIG. 23 are timing diagrams 4250, 4260 of serial data streams, where theupper timing diagram 4250 represents a first serial data signal 4254 andthe lower timing diagram 4260 represents a second serial data signal4262 which includes the first serial data signal 4254 with additionalbits inserted in the audio data stream, in accordance with at least oneaspect of the present disclosure. Turning first to the upper timingdiagram 4250, in an I²S serial data stream, a serial data signal 4254 isrepresented as a series of data bits 4252 (10011011) (shown circled)that are read by the DAC/amplifier circuit 4220 (FIG. 22) on the risingedge 4258 of the clock signal 4256 (rising edge bits). The DAC/amplifier4220 ignores data bits on the falling edge 4259 of the clock signal4256. The eight data bits 4252 (10011011) represent the audio tone to beplayed by the speakers 4234, 4236. However, there is no verification orconfirmation that the audio tone represented by the eight data bits 4252(10011011) is the correct audio tone for the current operation ofelectrosurgical/ultrasonic instrument.

Turning now to the lower timing diagram 4260, in accordance with oneaspect of the present disclosure, additional data bits are insertedbetween the audio data bits 4252 (10011011) shown in the upper timingdiagram 4250, to generate a serial double data signal 4264. The serialdouble data signal 4264 comprises the audio data bits 4252 (10011011)(shown circled) plus unique tone identification data bits (11000001)(shown un-circled) inserted between the audio data bits 4252 (10011011)to form a unique series of data bits 4262 (1101001010001011). The audiodata bits 4252 (10011011) are inserted on the rising edge 4268 of theclock signal 4266 (rising edge bits) and the unique tone identificationdata bits (11000001) are inserted on the falling edge 4269 of the clocksignal 4266 (falling edge bits) to form the unique series of data bits4262 (1101001010001011). The unique tone identification data bits(11000001) inserted on the falling edge 4269 of the clock signal 4266identify the audio data bits 4252 (10011011) as the correct audio tonefor the current operation of the electrosurgical/ultrasonic instrument.Audio bit-depth is not sacrificed. This technique leverages the factthat most I²S-compatible DACs only consider data bits present on therising edge 4268 of the clock signal 4266. The unique toneidentification data bits (11000001) can represent many unique tones andtone combinations and provides for future expandability. Accordingly,the audio mitigation control module 4206 can verify the tone defined bythe audio data bits 4252 (10011011) using the unique tone identificationdata bits (11000001) to identify the audio data bits 4252 (10011011)that represent the audio tone. It will be appreciated that the audiodata bits 4252 (10011011) will change on each sample so as to define anactual audio tone, whereas the unique tone identification data bits(11000001) will remain constant, identifying the tone throughout all ofthe changing audio samples.

FIG. 24 is a block diagram of an audio output circuit 4270 that utilizesadditional data bits inside a standard I²S data frame that correspond tounique tone identification, in accordance with at least one aspect ofthe present disclosure. In the example shown in FIG. 24 and withreference also to FIG. 23, the serial double data signal 4264 and theclock signal 4266 are fed back to the audio mitigation control module4276 of the processor 4202. The audio mitigation control module 4276reads the serial double data signal 4264 on the falling edge 4269 of theclock signal 4266 and confirms that the correct tone is sent to thespeakers 4234, 4236. As previously discussed, the I²S-compatibleDAC/amplifier circuit 4220 only considers data bits present on therising edge 4268 of the clock signal 4266 and ignores the unique toneidentification bits present on the falling edge 4269 of the clock signal4266. Thus, the additional data bits can represent many unique tones andtone combinations and provides for future expandability.

Feeding back the serial double data signal 4264 and the clock signal4266 to the audio mitigation control module 4276 provides an elegantsolution and can be read by the audio mitigation control module 4276 asdigital data without any extra hardware. The additional data bits readon the falling edge 4269 of the clock signal 4266 can represent manyunique tones and tone combinations that provides for futureexpandability. Further, this technique provides assurance that tones arecorrectly sent to and played by the speakers 4234, 4236 withoutsacrificing audio bit-depth as all the audio data bits can be used forplaying audio tones. Accordingly, if an incorrect tone is detected,based on knowing the expected tone due to a knowledge of what operationsare taking place, or similar activity, the processor 4202 may present afault to a user, cease the surgical functions, among other mitigatingactions.

Mitigation for Energy System User Interface (UI) Display

As described hereinbelow with reference to FIGS. 25-28, in variousaspects, the present disclosure provides modular energy systems 2000,3000, 6000 comprising user interface mitigation techniques for userinterface (UI) displays of the modular energy systems 2000, 3000, 6000.An energy generator component of the modular energy system 2000, 3000,6000 may improperly generate a visual indication of instrumentactivation status on a user interface (UI) display as required byexternal standards. For example, to prevent the generation of anincorrect UI display, the present disclosure provides circuits andassociated methods to actively confirm that a generated visualindication is appropriate and correct, thereby reducing or eliminatingthe risk of displaying an incorrect UI message or graphic. In oneaspect, the present disclosure provides circuits and associated methodsto monitor a copy of display signals to validate the entire displaydata-path.

In one general aspect, it may be necessary for an energy module 2004,3004, 6004 component of the modular energy system 2000, 3000, 6000 toprovide a visual indication of instrument activation status. In themodular energy system 2000, 3000, 6000 described herein, this may beaccomplished, at least in part, by changing the graphics on a graphicaldisplay unit. In this instance, the modular energy system 2000, 3000,6000 should ensure that the display state matches the instrumentactivation state at all times. There may be several points of failure inthe display generation path: failure of the software creating thegraphics may fail, the hardware display drivers may fail, any dataconversion processes may malfunction, etc. In one aspect, the presentdisclosure comprises a header module 2002, 3003, 6002 of the modularenergy system 2000, 3000, 6000 comprises a circuit which, if a riskanalysis determines is necessary, is able to confirm proper operation ofa significant portion of the data pathway to the display. A blockdiagram of such a circuit is described below.

FIG. 25 is a block diagram of a circuit 4280 for mitigating the functionof a user interface (UI) display 4299 of a modular energy system 2000,3000, 6000 or similar surgical equipment, in accordance with at leastone aspect of the present disclosure. The circuit 4280 comprises aprocessor 4282 coupled to a video data converter circuit such as, forexample, a DisplayPort to low-voltage differential signaling (LVDS)converter circuit 4288. Those skilled in the art will appreciate thatDisplayPort is a digital display interface standard by the VideoElectronics Standards Association (VESA). The DisplayPort interface isprimarily used to connect a video source to a display device and it canalso carry audio, USB, and other forms of data. DisplayPort can replaceVGA, FPD-Link, and Digital Visual Interface (DVI).

DisplayPort-formatted data 4284 from the processor 4282 is applied tothe DisplayPort to LVDS converter 4288 via a standard DisplayPortinterface 4286. The LVDS data 4294, differential video signaling data,on channel-1 is provided to the UI display 4299 via line 4298. LVDS data4296 on channel-2 is fed back to the processor via line 4290. As shown,the data 4294 on channel-1 is the same as the data on channel-2.

The processor 4282, which may be implemented as a system on a chip (SoCor the main processor in the header module 2002, 3004, 6004 of themodular energy system 2000, 3000, 6000) generates graphics internally insoftware, which is then driven out through the standard DisplayPortinterface 4286. The DisplayPort-formatted data 4284 then is translatedinto an LVDS signal (standard display interface signaling) through aspecialized onboard converter device such as the DisplayPort to LVDSconverter circuit 4288. The output of the DisplayPort to LVDS convertercircuit 4288 has two distinct display channels: channel-1 and channel-2,that may be utilized individually or in tandem. In one aspect, inaccordance with the present disclosure, the DisplayPort to LVDSconverter circuit 4288 connects one channel, e.g., channel-1, to theactual user display 4299 and connects the second channel, e.g.,channel-2, back to the processor 4282 for interpretation of the LVDSdata 4296. The DisplayPort to LVDS converter circuit 4288 is configuredto “mirror” the channels (channel-1, channel-2) such that identical datais driven out of both output channels (channel-1, channel-2).

In this way, the processor 4282 confirms the operation of theDisplayPort to LVDS converter circuit 4288 using the LVDS signals online 4290 carrying the LVDS data 4296 on channel-2, which change overtime. If the LVDS signals on line 4290 remain static and do not alterstate over time, the processor 4282 may conclude that something in thedisplay path is malfunctioning. Further, in one aspect, the processor4282 interprets the LVDS feedback signals to reconstruct the resultingimage defined by the LVDS data 4296 on channel-2, which should beidentical to the LVDS data 4294 on channel-1. The reconstructedresulting image can then be compared against an expected image toconfirm that the DisplayPort data 4284 is correct, is being converted toLVDS data 4294, 4296 correctly, and that the image appearing on thescreen of the UI display 4299 is appropriate for the given instrumentactivation state (or other surgical context).

In one aspect, the LVDS data 4296 on channel-2 is provided to a secondprocessor that is different from the processor 4282. The LVDS data 4296on channel-2 second provides a copy of the differential video signalingdata to the second processor. The second processor is configured todetermine whether the differential video signaling data on the secondoutput channel is changing over time.

In FIG. 26, the LVDS converter circuit 4288 has one output channel 4292,which is passed through a video splitter circuit 4293 coupled to theoutput channel of the LVDS converter circuit 4288, where the videosplitter circuit 4293 has two video data outputs 4294, 4296, inaccordance with at least aspect of the present disclosure. The firstdata output 4294 is coupled to the UI display 4299 via line 4298 and thesecond data output 4296 is coupled back to the processor 4282 on line4290. In one aspect, the LVDS data 4296 on is provided to a secondprocessor that is different from the processor 4282. The LVDS data 4296on provides a copy of the differential video signaling data to thesecond processor. The second processor is configured to determinewhether the differential video signaling data on the second outputchannel is changing over time.

FIG. 27 is a flow diagram of a method 4300 for mitigating the functionof the user Interface (UI) display 4299 of the modular energy systemcircuit 4280 shown in FIG. 25, or similar surgical equipment, inaccordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure. Withreference also to FIG. 25, the method 4300 may be implemented with thecircuit 4280, for example. In accordance with the method 4300, theprocessor 4282 acquires 4302 a copy of the LVDS data 4296 on channel-2to be displayed. The processor 4282 determines 4304 whether the LVDSdata 4296 on channel-2 is changing over time when expected. If the LVDSdata 4296 on channel-2 is not changing when expected, the processor 4282ceases/disables 4306 instrument activation or other surgical functions.If the LVDS data 4296 on channel-2 is changing when expected, theprocessor 4282 determines that the software is generating 4310 newimages and determines that the DisplayPort to the LVDS converter 4288 isfunctioning and the LVDS data 4294 on channel-1 is likely proper. Theprocessor 4282 then reconstructs 4308 the generated image from the LVDSdata 4296 on channel-2. If the reconstructed image does not match theexpected image, the processor 4282 ceases/disables 4306 instrumentactivation or other surgical functions. If the reconstructed imagematches the expected image, the processor 4282 determines that thesoftware is generating 4316 correct images and the generated imagesmatch the surgical context and enables 4314 instrument activation. Themethod 4300 returns to the processor 4282 acquiring 4302 a copy of theLVDS data 4296 on channel-2 to display and the process repeats asdescribed above.

FIG. 28 is a block diagram of a circuit 4320 for mitigating the functionof a user Interface (UI) display of a modular energy system 2000, 3000,6000 or similar surgical equipment, in accordance with at least oneaspect of the present disclosure. The method 4300 shown in FIG. 27 maybe implemented with the circuit 4320, for example. The output 4332 ofthe processor 4322 is coupled to a LVDS driver/receiver circuit 4324.The outputs 4344, 4346 of the LVDS driver/receiver circuit 4324 arecoupled to a DP-LVDS bridge circuit 4326. The DP-LVDS bridge circuit4326 is an embedded DisplayPort to LVDS bridge device that enablesconnectivity between an embedded DisplayPort (eDP) source and a LVDSdisplay panel (not shown) coupled to a display connector 4330. TheDP-LVDS bridge circuit 4326 processes the incoming DisplayPort (DP)stream, performs DP to LVDS protocol conversion and transmits aprocessed stream in LVDS format. In one aspect, the DP-LVDS bridgecircuit 4326 may comprises two high-speed ports: a receive port facingthe DP Source (for example, CPU/GPU/chip set) and a transmit port facingthe LVDS receiver (for example, LVDS display panel controller).

A first LVDS output 4340 of the DP-LVDS bridge circuit 4326 is coupledto a common mode filter 4328 to suppress EMI/RFI common mode noise onhigh speed differential serial Display Port lines and other high speedserial interfaces. The common mode filter 4328 may comprise a very largedifferential bandwidth to comply with standards and can protect andfilter two differential lanes. A second LVDS output 4342 of the DP-LVDSbridge circuit 4326 is coupled to a system-on-chip 4334 (SoC). A pulsewidth modulation output 4336 (PWMO) of the DP-LVDS bridge circuit 4326is coupled to the display panel via the display connector 4330. Abacklight enable output 4338 of the DP-LVDS bridge circuit 4326 is alsocoupled to the display via a display connector 4330.

Audio Mitigation Using Super-Audible Tones

As described hereinbelow with reference to FIGS. FIGS. 29-38, in variousaspects, the present disclosure provides modular energy systems 2000,3000, 6000 comprising audio mitigation circuits and associated methodsfor using super-audible tones in the modular energy systems 2000, 3000,6000. In various aspects, electrosurgical energy modules 2004, 3004,6004 in a modular energy system 2000, 3000, 6000 use audio tones toindicate alarms, alerts, and energy activations. Audio feedback is partof a protocol to alert the user that the electrosurgical instrument hasbeen energized by the energy module 2004, 3004, 6004 and is functioningproperly. Accordingly, in one aspect, audio feedback protocols employhardware/software mitigation techniques. One potential audio failurethat requires mitigation is the possibility that the software plays anincorrect audio file. Accordingly, there is a need for hardware/softwaretechniques for mixing audio files, where each file is checked against anexpected asset.

In one aspect, the present disclosure provides a hardware/softwaretechnique that employs pre-processing of audio assets, where each audioasset is filtered to reserve a portion of the spectrum outside theaudible range referred to herein s super-audible to indicate that thetones are in the upper ranges of the audio frequency spectrum. Thissuper-audible range is divided into bins, where each bin can beallocated to a unique audio asset. The audio file may be mixed with asine wave of the allocated identification (ID) frequency prior to beingloaded into the energy module 2004, 3004, 6004 of the modular energysystem 2000, 3000, 6000.

In one aspect, when the modular energy system 2000, 3000, 6000 softwarereceives a request to play one or more than one audio file, the audiofiles are mixed (if necessary) and streamed to an audio amplifier, suchas the DAC/amplifier circuit 4220 shown in FIG. 24. In oneimplementation, the header module 2002, 3002, 6002 of the modular energysystem 2000, 3000, 6000 may include a programmable circuit, such as theaudio mitigation control module 4276, for example, to access the audiodata lines between the processor 4202 and the DAC/amplifier 4220, forexample. In another implementation, the data is accessed through thecurrent sense amplifiers 4222, 4224 is applied to the ADCs 4216, 4218and the digital outputs are provided to the audio mitigation controlmodule 4276 portion of the processor 4202. This allows the DAC/amplifier4220 and speaker filters 4226, 4228 to be included in the mitigationfunction performed by the audio mitigation control module 4276 portionof the processor 4202 based on the digitized data received from the ADCs4216, 4218. The audio mitigation control module 4276 may be implementedin software, firmware, or hardware such as an FPGA circuit.

The programmable circuit may be configured to perform the followingfunctions when audio is played:

1) Fetch from software expected audio data file unique identificationnumbers stored in a memory coupled to the processor;

2) Implement a filter to filter audio data to isolate the super-audiblefrequency range, where the filter may be a high pass or band passfilter;

3) Under-sample (decimate) the audio data down to baseband (0 Hz to maxsuper-audible frequency) to enable a smaller fast Fourier transform(FFT) calculation without sacrificing bin size;

4) Calculate the FFT of the under-sampled data;

5) Perform a peak detect function on the FFT; and

6) Compare the peaks to expected super-audible unique identificationtones.

Depending on the under-sampling factor, the frequencies may show up asFs/2-tone_freq, as described hereinbelow.

In one aspect, the present disclosure provides circuits and associatedmethods for pre-processing audio assets of the energy module 2004, 3004,6004 of the modular energy system 2000, 3000, 6000. In one aspect, aportion of the spectrum outside the audible range is reserved. Forexample, this reserved range may be selected as the frequency band of 20kHz-24 kHz. The original audio assets outside the reserved band arelow-pass filtered to remove any audio content within the reserved band.Unique super-audible tones are applied to each audio asset within thereserved band to serve as an ID. In one aspect, the reserved band audioassets are divided into 50 Hz bins to produce a total of 80 unique IDs.In another aspect, the reserved band audio assets are divided into 31.49Hz bins, resulting in 256 unique IDs. In this way, the audio filecontains the original audio asset within frequencies below the reservedband, in addition to unique super-audible tone or tones serving asunique IDs within the reserved band.

With reference also to the audio output circuit 4270 shown in FIG. 24,the audio files are sent to an audio DAC/amplifier 4220 by the softwarein the processor 4202. The software may mix multiple audio files forsimultaneous activations, for example. In one implementation, aprogrammable circuit, such as an FPGA, for example, intercepts the audiofile on its way to the amplifier DAC/amplifier 4220. In anotherimplementation, the analog current between the DAC/amplifier 4220 andthe speakers 4234, 4236 is read via the current shunts 4230, 4232. Theaudio data is filtered by the filters 4226, 4228 to isolate thesuper-audible range of frequencies 20-24 kHz. The current sensed by thecurrent shunts 4230, 4232 is applied to corresponding current senseamplifiers 4224, 4222. The ADCs 4216, 418 digitize the outputs of thecurrent sense amplifiers 4222, 4224 for further digital processing bythe processor 4202 digital mitigation control module 4276.

The filters 4226, 4228 may be high pass filter or band pass filters. Inone implementation, the filter 4226, 4228 may be a band pass filter whenusing a class-D versus linear amplifier. A class-D amplifier produces alot of high frequency artifacts that can be removed with a band passfilter. Filtering is performed prior to under-sampling. Subsequently,the audio data is under-sampled to “fold” the super-audible frequencyband down to baseband. This technique enables a smaller FFT calculationwithout sacrificing bin size. Using peak detection, the presence ofunique identification tones, as described in connection the lower timingdiagram 4260 in FIG. 23, can be determined which indicates whichspecific audio file or combination of files is being sent to the audioamplifier. This technique also may be employed without the optional stepof under-sampling or folding the super-audible frequency band tobaseband. The programmable circuit checks the identified audio filesidentified by the super-audible frequencies (IDs) against expected audiofiles. If a mismatch between the expected audio files and the filesbeing sent to the audio amplifier is detected, a fault may be presentedto the user, surgical functions may be ceased or prevented, or someother corrective action may be taken.

Example audio files are described hereinbelow with reference to FIGS.29-37. In each of the graphs shown in FIGS. 29-37, the vertical axisrepresents amplitude (dB) and the horizontal axis represents frequency(kHz)

FIG. 29 is a graph of a frequency spectrum of a first raw unfilteredaudio file 4350 and FIG. 30 is a graph of a frequency spectrum of asecond raw unfiltered audio file 4352.

FIG. 31 is a graph of a frequency spectrum of a first pre-filtered audiofile 4354 and a first target super-audible range 4356 (20-24 kHz). FIG.32 is a graph of a frequency spectrum of a second pre-filtered audiofile 4358 and a second target super-audible range 4360 (20-24 kHz). Eachaudio file 4354, 4358 is low-pass filtered before applying anysuper-audible identification tones in the super-audible range (20 kHz-24kHz).

FIG. 33 is a graph of a frequency spectrum of a first audio file 4362with a single 21 kHz super-audible tone 4364. FIG. 34 is a graph of afrequency spectrum of a second audio file 4366 with a single 22.5 kHzsuper-audible tone 4368. The single, unique super-audible tone 4364,4368 is applied to each of the pre-filtered audio files 4354 (FIG. 31),4358 (FIG. 32) prior to loading into the energy module 2004. The firstand second audio files 4362, 4366 each with a single super-audible tone4364, 4368, respectively, are mixed in the energy module 2004.

FIG. 35 is a graph of a frequency spectrum of a mixed audio file 4370with super-audible tones 4372. The mixed audio file 4370 is produced bymixing the first and second audio files 4362, 4366 (FIGS. 33, 34) eachwith a single super-audible tone 4364, 4368, respectively. The first andsecond audio files 4362, 4366 are mixed in the energy module 2004 toproduce the mixed audio file 4370 when simultaneous audio is required.The unique super-audible tones 4364, 4368 remain in the frequencyspectrum.

FIG. 36 is a graph of a frequency spectrum of a post filtered mixedaudio file 4374. The mixed audio file 4370 (FIG. 35) is captured eitheron its way to the amplifier or is current sensed by a current senseamplifier and is band-pass filtered to isolate the target super-audibleband comprising the super-audible tones 4364, 4368.

FIG. 37 is a graph of a frequency spectrum of a post-filtered andunder-sampled audio file 4376. The post filtered mixed audio file 4374(FIG. 36) data is under-sampled (decimated) and an FFT of the postfiltered mixed audio file 4374 is calculated. The super-audible tones4364, 4368 show up, after under-sampling, as ((Fs/2)−tone_freq), whereFs is the under-sampling sample rate and tone_freq is the frequency of agiven super-audible tone.

FIG. 38 is a logic diagram of an audio mitigation method 4380 usingsuper-audible tones, in accordance with at least one aspect of thepresent disclosure. The method 4380 may be implemented with the audiooutput circuit 4270 shown in FIG. 24. As previously discussed, the audiooutput circuit 4270 comprises a processor 4202, an audio amplifier 4220coupled to the processor 4202 by audio data lines, and an audiomitigation control circuit 4276 coupled to the processor 4202 and theaudio amplifier 4220. The audio mitigation control circuit 4276 isconfigured to fetch 4382, from a memory coupled to the audio mitigationcontrol circuit 4276, a unique identification number to identify anexpected audio file, the audio file comprising audio data, such as forexample the serial double data signal 4264 shown in FIG. 23. The audiodata comprises an audio asset, e.g., the serial data signal 4254represented as a series of data bits 4252 (10011011), and a uniquesuper-audible tone, e.g., the unique tone identification data bits(11000001) (shown un-circled in FIG. 23) inserted between the audio databits 4252 (10011011) to form a unique series of data bits 4262(1101001010001011), to identify the audio asset.

According to the method 4380, the audio mitigation control circuit 4276is configured to receive 4384 the audio data 4264 transmitted from theprocessor 4202 to the audio amplifier 4220. The audio data is filtered4386 by the filters 4226, 4228 to isolate a super-audible frequencyrange of the audio data. In various aspects, the filters 4226, 4228 maybe implemented as band-pass filters or high-pass filters. The filteredaudio data is sensed by the current amplifiers 4222, 4224 and convertedto digital data by the ADCs 4216, 4218 and read by the audio mitigationcontrol circuit 4276. The audio mitigation control circuit 4276 isfurther to configured to calculate 4388 a fast Fourier transform (FFT)on the received digital audio data in the isolated super-audiblefrequency range. The audio mitigation control circuit 4276 is further toconfigured to detect 4390 a super-audible tone in the FFT results byperforming a peak detection function. The audio mitigation controlcircuit 4276 is further configured to compare 4392 the detectedsuper-audible tone to the unique identification number, e.g., the uniquetone identification data bits (11000001) (shown un-circled in FIG. 23)inserted between the audio data bits 4252 (10011011) to form a uniqueseries of data bits 4262 (1101001010001011), to identify the expectedaudio file and determine 4394 a specific audio file transmitted to theaudio amplifier 4220 based on the comparison.

In various other aspect, the audio mitigation control circuit 4276 isfurther configured to under-sample the filtered audio data down tobaseband and calculate a fast Fourier transform (FFT) on theunder-sampled filtered audio data.

In one aspect, the audio assets may be divided into 50 Hz bins toproduce a total of 80 unique identification numbers. In another aspect,the audio assets may be divided into 31.49 Hz bins to produce 256 uniqueidentification numbers.

In one aspect, the audio mitigation control circuit 4276 may beconfigured to detect a mismatch between the expected audio file and thespecific audio file transmitted to the audio amplifier and present afault to a user interface, cease surgical functions based on thedetected mismatch between the expected audio file and the specific audiofile transmitted to the audio amplifier, or prevent surgical functionsbased on the detected mismatch between the expected audio file and thespecific audio file transmitted to the audio amplifier.

Examples

Various aspects of modular energy systems comprising user interfacemitigation techniques described herein with reference to FIGS. 22-38 areset out in the following numbered examples.

Example 1. An audio circuit, comprising: a processor configured togenerate a digital audio signal, wherein the audio signal comprisesaudio data bits inserted on the rising edge of a clock signal andadditional data bits inserted on a falling edge of the clock signal,wherein the audio data bits on the rising edge represent a digital audiotone and the additional data bits inserted on the falling edge representa unique tone identification of the audio data bits on the rising edge;a digital-to-analog converter configured to: receive the digital audiosignal; convert the audio data bits inserted on the rising edge; andignore the additional data bits on the falling edge; an audio mitigationcontrol module configured to: receive the digital audio signal; read theadditional data bits on the falling edge; and confirm that the audiodata bits inserted on the rising edge represent a correct digital audiotone based on the unique tone identification.

Example 2. The audio circuit of Example 1, wherein the audio mitigationcontrol module is implemented in any one of software or hardware or acombination of software and hardware.

Example 3. The audio circuit of any one or more of Examples 1 through 2,further comprising an amplifier circuit coupled to the digital-to-analogconverter.

Example 4. The audio circuit of any one or more of Examples 1 through 3,wherein the digital-to-analog converter comprises two analog outputchannels, wherein a first analog output channel is coupled to a firstspeaker and as second analog output channel is coupled to a secondspeaker.

Example 5. The audio circuit of Example 4, further comprising: a firstcurrent shunt coupled in series with the first speaker; and a secondcurrent shunt coupled in series with the second speaker.

Example 6. The audio circuit of Example 5, comprising: a first currentsense amplifier having an input coupled to the first current shunt andan output coupled to an input of a first analog-to-digital converter(ADC); and a second current sense amplifier having an input coupled tothe second current shunt and an output coupled to an input of a secondADC; wherein each output of the first and second ADCs is coupled to theaudio mitigation control module.

Example 7. A circuit for mitigating a function of a user interface (UI)display of a modular energy system, the circuit comprising: a processorconfigured to couple to a surgical instrument; a display; and a videodata converter circuit configured to receive formatted video data thatrepresents an expected image to be displayed on the display and toprovide differential video signaling data to the display and a copy ofthe differential video signaling data to the processor; wherein theprocessor is configured to determine whether the copy of thedifferential video signaling data is changing over time.

Example 8. The circuit of Example 7, wherein the video data convertercircuit comprises an input channel coupled to the processor and firstand second output channels; wherein the input channel is configured toreceive the formatted video data from the processor; wherein the firstoutput channel is coupled to the display to provide differential videosignaling data to the display; and wherein the second output channel iscoupled to the processor to provide the copy of the differential videosignaling data to the processor.

Example 9. The circuit of Example 8, further comprising a secondprocessor coupled to the second output channel, wherein the secondprocessor is different from the processor; wherein the second outputchannel is configured to provide a copy of the differential videosignaling data to the second processor; and wherein the second processoris configured to determine whether the differential video signaling dataon the second output channel is changing over time.

Example 10. The circuit of any one or more of Examples 7 through 9,further comprising a video splitter circuit having an input channel andfirst and second output channels; wherein the video data convertercircuit comprises an input channel coupled to the processor and anoutput channel coupled to the video splitter circuit; wherein the firstoutput channel of the video splitter circuit is coupled to the displayto provide differential video signaling data to the display; and whereinthe second output channel of the video splitter circuit is coupled tothe processor to provide the copy of the differential video signalingdata to the processor.

Example 11. The circuit of Example 10, further comprising a secondprocessor coupled to the second output channel of the video splittercircuit, wherein the second processor is different from the processor;wherein the second output channel of the video splitter circuit isconfigured to provide a copy of the differential video signaling data tothe second processor; and wherein the second processor is configured todetermine whether the differential video signaling data on the secondoutput channel is changing over time.

Example 12. The circuit of any one or more of Examples 7 through 11,wherein the formatted video data is DisplayPort formatted data.

Example 13. The circuit of any one or more of Examples 7 through 12,wherein the video data converter is configured to convert the formattedvideo data to low voltage differential signaling data.

Example 14. The circuit of any one or more of Examples 7 through 13,wherein the video data converter circuit comprises a driver circuitcoupled to a bridge circuit.

Example 15. The circuit of any one or more of Examples 7 through 14,wherein the processor is configured to reconstruct an image based on thedifferential video signaling data on the second output channel.

Example 16. The circuit of Example 15, wherein the processor isconfigured to: compare the reconstructed image to the expected image;and enable activation of the surgical instrument based on a matchbetween the reconstructed image and the expected image.

Example 17. The circuit of any one or more of Examples 15 through 16,wherein the processor is configured to: compare the reconstructed imageto the expected image; and disable activation of the surgical instrumentbased on a mismatch between the reconstructed image and the expectedimage.

Example 18. The circuit of any one or more of Examples 7 through 17,wherein the processor is configured to disable activation of thesurgical instrument based on the differential video signaling data onthe second output channel not changing over time when expected.

Example 19. A method of mitigating a function of a user interface (UI)display of a modular energy system, the method comprising: receiving, bya video data converter circuit, formatted video data at an input channelof the video data converter circuit, wherein the input channel iscoupled to a processor and the formatted video data represents anexpected image to be displayed on a display, the video data converterhaving two output channels, wherein a first output channel is coupled tothe display and a second output channel is coupled back to theprocessor, wherein the processor is configured to couple to a surgicalinstrument; providing, by the video data converter circuit, differentialvideo signaling data to the display from the first output channel of thevideo data converter circuit; providing, by the video data convertercircuit, a copy of the differential video signaling data to theprocessor from the second output channel; and determining, by theprocessor, whether the differential video signaling data on the secondoutput channel is changing over time.

Example 20. The method of Example 19, comprising reconstructing, by theprocessor, an image based on the differential video signaling data onthe second output channel.

Example 21. The method of Example 20, comprising: comparing, by theprocessor, the reconstructed image to the expected image; and enabling,by the processor, activation of the surgical instrument based on a matchbetween the reconstructed image and the expected image.

Example 22. The method of any one or more of Examples 20 through 21,comprising: comparing, by the processor, the reconstructed image to theexpected image; and disable, by the processor, activation of thesurgical instrument based on a mismatch between the reconstructed imageand the expected image.

Example 23. The method of any one or more of Examples 19 through 22,comprising disabling, by the processor, activation of the surgicalinstrument based on the differential video signaling data on the secondoutput channel not changing over time when expected.

Example 24. An audio circuit, comprising: a processor; an audioamplifier coupled to the processor by audio data lines; an audiomitigation control circuit coupled to the processor and the audioamplifier, a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) comprising a first analogoutput channel coupled to a first speaker; a first current shunt coupledin series with the first speaker; a first current sense amplifier havingan input coupled to the first current shunt and an output coupled to aninput of a first analog-to-digital converter (ADC); and wherein theoutput of the first ADC is coupled to the audio mitigation controlmodule; wherein the audio mitigation control circuit is configured to:fetch, from a memory coupled to the audio mitigation control circuit, aunique identification number to identify an expected audio file, theaudio file comprising audio data comprising an audio asset and a uniquesuper-audible tone to identify the audio asset; receive the audio datafrom the output of the first ADC; filter the audio data to isolate asuper-audible frequency range of the audio data; calculate a fastFourier transform (FFT) on the audio data in the isolated super-audiblefrequency range; perform a peak detection function on the FFT results todetect a super-audible tone; compare the detected super-audible tone tothe unique identification number to identify the expected audio file;and determine a specific audio file transmitted to the audio amplifierbased on the comparison.

Example 25. The audio circuit of Example 24, wherein the audiomitigation control circuit is configured to under-sample the filteredaudio data down to baseband.

Example 26. The audio circuit of Example 25, wherein the audiomitigation control circuit is configured to calculate a fast Fouriertransform (FFT) on the under-sampled filtered audio data.

Example 27. The audio circuit of any one or more of Examples 24 through26, wherein the audio assets are divided into 50 Hz bins to produce atotal of 80 unique identification numbers.

Example 28. The audio circuit of any one or more of Examples 24 through27, wherein the audio assets are divided into 31.49 Hz bins to produce256 unique identification numbers.

Example 29. The audio circuit of any one or more of Examples 24 through28, wherein the audio mitigation control circuit is configured to detecta mismatch between the expected audio file and the specific audio filetransmitted to the audio amplifier and present a fault to a userinterface.

Example 30. The audio circuit of Example 29, wherein the audiomitigation control circuit is configured to cease surgical functionsbased on the detected mismatch between the expected audio file and thespecific audio file transmitted to the audio amplifier.

Example 31. The audio circuit of any one or more of Examples 29 through30, wherein the audio mitigation control circuit is configured toprevent surgical functions based on the detected mismatch between theexpected audio file and the specific audio file transmitted to the audioamplifier.

Example 32. The audio circuit of any one or more of Examples 24 through31, wherein the filter is implemented as a band-pass filter.

Example 33. The audio circuit of any one or more of Examples 24 through32, wherein the filter is implemented as a high-pass filter.

Example 34. The audio circuit of any one or more of Examples 24 through33, wherein the DAC comprises a second analog output channel; the audiocircuit further comprising: a second speaker coupled to the secondanalog channel of the DAC; a second current shunt coupled in series withthe second speaker; a second ADC; a second current sense amplifierhaving an input coupled to the second current shunt and an outputcoupled to an input of the second ADC; wherein the output of the secondADC is coupled to the audio mitigation control module; and wherein theaudio mitigation control circuit is configured to receive the audio datafrom the output of the second ADC.

Example 35. An audio circuit, comprising: a processor; an audioamplifier coupled to the processor by audio data lines; an audiomitigation control circuit coupled to the processor and the audioamplifier, wherein the audio mitigation control circuit is configuredto: fetch, from a memory coupled to the audio mitigation controlcircuit, a unique identification number to identify an expected audiofile, the audio file comprising audio data comprising an audio asset anda unique super-audible tone to identify the audio asset; receive theaudio data transmitted from the processor to the audio amplifier; filterthe audio data to isolate a super-audible frequency range of the audiodata; calculate a fast Fourier transform (FFT) on the audio data in theisolated super-audible frequency range; perform a peak detectionfunction on the FFT results to detect a super-audible tone; compare thedetected super-audible tone to the unique identification number toidentify the expected audio file; and determine a specific audio filetransmitted to the audio amplifier based on the comparison.

Energy Delivery Mitigations for Modular Energy Systems

Having described a general implementation of modular energy systems2000, 3000, and 6000, and various surgical instruments usable therewith,for example, surgical instruments 2204, 2206, and 2208, the disclosurenow turns to various aspects of modular energy systems comprising energydelivery mitigations. In other aspects, these modular energy systems aresubstantially similar to the modular energy system 2000, the modularenergy system 3000, and/or the modular energy system 6000 describedhereinabove. For the sake of brevity, various details of other modularenergy systems described in the following sections, which are similar tothe modular energy system 2000, the modular energy system 3000, and/orthe modular energy system 6000, are not repeated herein. Any aspect ofthe other modular energy systems described below can be brought into themodular energy system 2000, the modular energy system 3000, or themodular energy system 6000.

Mitigated Interface for Energy Footswitch Activation

As described hereinbelow with reference to FIG. 39, in various aspects,the present disclosure provides modular energy systems 2000, 3000, 6000comprising a mitigated interface for energy footswitch activation. Ingeneral terms throughout the present disclosure, coupled refers towireless or wired connections between two components. For illustrativepurposes and not limitations, the accessory described in this context isa footswitch that is used to activate energy to anelectrosurgical/ultrasonic instrument. As used herein,electrosurgical/ultrasonic instrument comprises any one of anelectrosurgical instrument that is either monopolar or bipolar, anultrasonic instrument, or an instrument that employs a combination ofelectrosurgical and ultrasonic energy, connected to the energy module2004, 3004, 6004 of the modular energy system 2000, 3000, 6000.Accordingly, in one aspect, the accessory may comprise one or more thanone footswitch configured to activate an electrosurgical/ultrasonicinstrument by communicating switch states to the modular energy module2000, 3000, 6000. In one aspect, the mitigated interface detects thestate of each coupled footswitch, or other accessory, as well as thetype of footswitch, or other accessory, that is coupled to the modularenergy system 2000, 3000, 6000. In another aspect, the presentdisclosure provides a robust wireless mesh communication network toimprove the reliability of wireless communications between accessoriesand the modular energy system 2000, 3000, 6000 in an operating room (OR)environment.

In one aspect, the present disclosure provides a modular energy system2000, 3000, 6004 comprising a header module 2002, 3002, 6002 and atleast one energy module 2004, 3004, 6004 with support for multiplefootswitches and footswitch types to control the activation ofelectrosurgical/ultrasonic instruments connected to the energy module2004, 3004, 6004. In one aspect, to accommodate support for multiplefootswitches and footswitch types, an isolated interface is disposedbetween a host controller in the header module 2002, 3002, 6002 and thefootswitch ports into which the footswitches are coupled to the headermodule 2002, 3002, 6002. The isolated interface detects the state of theconnected footswitch as well as the type of connected footswitch. Theisolated interface comprises isolation circuitry, which is typicallyphysically large and costly. Therefore, it is desirable to minimize thenumber of discrete signals crossing the isolation boundary to minimizethe number of isolation circuitry required in a given application. It isalso desirable to provide mitigation techniques at the isolatedinterface to minimize the probability that an energy device such as anelectrosurgical/ultrasonic instrument receives an uncommanded erroneousactivation signal from the accessory.

FIG. 39 is a schematic diagram of an isolated switch interface circuit4400 to support and mitigate footswitch activation for multiplefootswitches and types of footswitches, in accordance with at least oneaspect of the present disclosure. The isolated switch interface circuit4400 comprises a footswitch 4401 coupled to a footswitch connector 4402.In one aspect, the footswitch 4401 comprises a minimum (MIN) switch 4404and a maximum (MAX) switch 4406 output. A footswitch identificationcircuit comprising, for example, a resistor “R id” is used to identifythe type of footswitch 4401 coupled to the footswitch connector 4402. Itwill be appreciated that, although the present examples is directed to afootswitch, the isolated switch interface circuit 4400 may be adaptedfor any switch used to control activation or deactivation of a surgicalinstrument coupled to the energy module 2004 of a modular energy system2000.

The MIN switch 4404 is coupled through the footswitch connector 4402 toa first footswitch detection circuit comprising a first comparator 4408.The MAX switch 4406 is coupled through the footswitch connector 4402 toa second comparator 4410. A reference voltage Vref Comp is applied toeach of the first and second comparators 4408, 4410. The voltage signalsgenerated by closing or opening the MIN and MAX switches 4404, 4406 arecompared to the reference voltage Vref Comp at the respective inputs ofthe first and second comparators 4408, 4410. The output FSW1 MIN A ofthe first comparator 4408 and the output FSW1 MAX A of the secondcomparator 4410 are applied to an input/output (I/O) expander circuit4416. The FSW1 RES voltage signal is used to identify the type offootswitch 4401 coupled to the footswitch connector 4402 is applied toan input of an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) circuit 4418.

The MIN switch 4404 is also coupled through the footswitch connector4402 to a duplicate footswitch detection circuit comprising a thirdcomparator 4412. The MAX switch 4406 is also coupled through thefootswitch connector 4402 to a duplicate footswitch detection circuitrycomprising a fourth comparator 4414. A reference voltage Vref Comp isapplied to each of the third and fourth comparators 4412, 4414. Thevoltage signals generated by closing or opening the MIN and MAX switches4404, 4406 are compared to the reference voltage Vref Comp at therespective inputs of the third and fourth comparators 4412, 4414. Theoutput FSW1 MIN B of the first comparator 4412 and the output FSW1 MAX Bare applied to the I/O expander circuit 4416. The duplicate footswitchdetection circuitry mitigates energy footswitch activation to a surgicalinstrument coupled to the energy module 2004, 3004, 6004. It will beappreciated that the duplicate footswitch detection circuitry mitigatesagainst potential failures in the detection circuitry.

The output of the I/O expander circuit 4416 is connected to a digitalisolator circuit 4422 and to a primary controller 4426 over a serialperipheral interface (SPI), e.g., single digital serial communicationbus. The primary controller 4426 comprises a processor. The primarycontroller 4426 compares the outputs of the first and second footswitchdetection circuits and either activates or deactivates energy to thesurgical instrument coupled to the energy module 2004 based on theresults of the comparison. For example, the primary controller 4426 willactivate or deactivate if the outputs of the first and second footswitchdetection circuits match. If there is a mismatch between the outputs ofthe first and second footswitch detection circuits, the primarycontroller 4426 will deactivate energy to the surgical instrument. Inthe instance where the first and second footswitch detection circuitseach include a single comparator 4408 and a duplicate comparator 4412,the primary controller 4426 compares the outputs of the singlecomparator 4408 and the duplicate comparator 4412.

In the instance where the first and second footswitch detection circuitseach include multiple comparators such as a first and second comparator4408, 4410 and first and second duplicate comparators 4412, 4414, theprimary controller 4426 compares the outputs of the first comparator4408 with the first duplicate comparator 4412 and compares the output ofthe second comparator 4410 with the second duplicate comparator 4414.This process may be scaled up to a predetermined number of footswitchesand corresponding number of comparators and duplicate comparators. Inthis manner, the primary controller 4426 can mitigate the risk of anygiven footswitch signal by comparing the outputs of the primarycomparators to the corresponding duplicate comparators.

As shown in FIG. 39, the digital isolator circuit 4422 defines anisolation boundary between the primary controller 4426 and the isolatedswitch interface circuit 4400. An isolated power supply 4424 suppliespower to the local power supplies 4420 of the isolated switch interfacecircuit 4400.

Still with reference to FIG. 39, additional footswitches FSW2, FSW3,FSW4, and others, can be added to the isolated switch interface circuit4400. These additional footswitches FSW2, FSW3, FSW4, and others, arecoupled to the I/O expander circuit 4416 and to the primary controller4426 over the SPI bus and through the digital isolator circuit 4422. TheID resistor values FSW2 RES, FSW3 RES, FSW4 RES, and others, identifythe type of footswitches FSW2, FSW3, FSW4, and others. In one aspect,the ID resistor values FSW1 RES, FSW2 RES, FSW3 RES, FSW4 RES areapplied to the ADC circuit 4418 in the form of voltages. In otherimplementations, currents or other parameters may be applied to the ADCcircuit 4418 to identify the type of footswitches. The ADC circuit 4418is coupled to the primary controller 4426 over the SPI bus and throughthe digital isolator circuit 4422. The signal Vref_Comp is provided asinput to the ADC circuit 4418. The Vref_Comp signal is provided to theinput of the ADC circuit 4418 such that the primary controller 4426 canperform a self-test of the comparator reference voltage Vref_Comp.

The disclosed I/O expander circuit 4416 and the ADC circuit 4418 areconnected on the single SPI bus. The ADC circuit 4418 monitors aresistor value FSW1 RES integrated into each attached footswitch 4401for detecting unique footswitch types. The I/O expander circuit 4416monitors the MIN state and the MAX state of each footswitch 4401.Employing the I/O expander circuit 4416 with greater than or equal totwice the number of required I/O, the footswitch states MIN, MAX can bemitigated by duplicating the detection circuitry. Accordingly, theisolated switch interface circuit 4400 detects the switch state of eachconnected footswitch 4401 as well as the type of footswitch 4401connected. The isolated switch interface circuit 4400 minimizes thenumber of discrete signals crossing the isolation boundary as isolationcircuitry is typically physically large and costly. Further, theisolated switch interface circuit 4400 provides mitigation techniques onthe interface to minimize the probability that an energy device receivesan uncommanded activation. Accordingly, using a single digital, serialcommunication bus SPI for bridging across the isolation boundaryminimizes the number of signals required by the isolated switchinterface circuit 4400. This technique minimizes the number of discretesignals crossing the isolation boundary to minimize the isolationcircuitry required in a given application and simplifies theimplementation.

In one aspect, the present disclosure provides a method of mitigatingerroneous outputs from an isolated footswitch interface circuit 4400 fora modular energy system 2000. The method comprises receiving, at a firstinput of a first comparator 4408, a state of a first switch 4404 of afirst footswitch 4401 coupled to the first input of the first comparator4408 and a reference voltage Vref_Comp coupled to a second input of thefirst comparator 4408. The method comprises, receiving, at a first inputof a first duplicate comparator 4412, the state of the first switch 4404coupled to the first input of the first duplicate comparator 4412 andthe reference voltage Vref_Comp coupled to a second input of the firstduplicate comparator 4412. The method comprises comparing, by thecontroller 4426 coupled to the outputs of the first comparator 4408 andthe first duplicate comparator 4412, the output of the first comparator4408 with the output of the first duplicate comparator 4412. The methodcomprises determining, by the controller 4426, activation ordeactivation of a surgical instrument coupled to the controller 4426based on the comparison.

The method further comprises receiving, by an analog to digitalconverter 4418 (ADC) coupled to the controller 4426, a first footswitchidentification signal FSW1 RES and identifying, by the controller 4426,a type of the footswitch 4401 based on the first switch identificationsignal FSW1 RES. In another aspect, the method further comprises theprimary controller 4426 measuring the “Vref Comp” voltage anddetermining that it is within its expected range by measuring thevoltage at the ADC 4418 input.

The method further comprises receiving, at a first input of a secondcomparator 4410, a state of a second switch 4406 of the first footswitch4401 coupled to the first input of the second comparator 4410 and areference voltage Vref Comp coupled to a second input of the secondcomparator 4410. The method comprises, receiving, at a first input of asecond duplicate comparator 4414, the state of the second switch 4406coupled to the first input of the second duplicate comparator 4414 andthe reference voltage Vref Comp coupled to a second input of the secondduplicate comparator 4414. The method comprises comparing, by thecontroller 4426 coupled to outputs of the second comparator 4410 and thesecond duplicate comparator 4414, the output of the second comparator4410 with the output of the second duplicate comparator 4414.

The method further comprises determining, by the controller 4426,activation or deactivation of a surgical instrument coupled to thecontroller 4426 based on the comparison. In one aspect, the methodcomprises receiving, by the ADC 4418, a comparator reference voltageVref Comp and measuring, by the controller 4426, the comparatorreference voltage Vref Comp applied to the ADC 4418. The method furthercomprises determining, by the controller 4426, that the comparatorreference voltage Vref Comp is within predetermined limits and enabling,by the controller 4426, activation of the surgical instrument in theinstance that the comparator reference voltage Vref Comp is within thepredetermined limits and disabling, by the controller 4426, activationof the surgical instrument in the instance that the comparator referencevoltage Vref Comp is not within the predetermined limits.

In other aspects, the mitigation method further comprises mitigating thecircuitry by measuring the voltage rails V and detecting an error ifthese voltages V are outside an expected range. In one aspect, the ADC4418 also may receive at its input one or more of the power supply, Vand V FSW, for example, and reference voltages, Vref Comp, for example,used by the detection circuitry. In another aspect, the ADC 4418 alsomay receive at its input one or more of the power supply and referencevoltages used by the detection circuitry scaled by a scaling circuitry.Accordingly, in various aspects, the method further comprises receiving,at an input to the ADC 4418, one or more of the power supply V and V FSWand reference voltages Vref Comp used by the detection circuitry, or oneor more of the power supply and reference voltages used by the detectioncircuitry scaled by a scaling circuitry. The method further comprisescomparing, by the controller 4426, a measurement of the power supply Vand V FSW and reference voltages Vref Comp to an expected range todetermine proper operation of the voltage supply circuitries.

Robust Wireless Accessory Communication

As described hereinbelow with reference to FIGS. 40-46, in variousaspects, the present disclosure provides modular energy systems 2000,3000, 6000 comprising robust wireless accessory communicationtechniques. Wireless communication can potentially be unreliable in anoperating room (OR) environment, due to various sources ofelectromagnetic interference or other sources of interference. For manyapplications (such as footswitch-activation), a robust method ofcommunicating wirelessly is needed. The present disclosure providescircuits and associated methods for robust wireless accessorycommunication in an OR environment.

FIG. 40 shows an operating room 4500 (OR) with an accessorycommunicating wirelessly to a modular energy system 2000, 3000, 6000. Inexample illustrated in FIG. 40, the accessory is a wireless footswitch4502 in wireless communication with the modular energy system 2000,3000, 6000. Interference 4506 in the OR 4500 can block the wirelesssignals 4504 and may impact the reliability of related communications.For example, wireless signals 4504 transmitted by the footswitch 4502may not reach the modular energy system 2000, 3000, 6000 to activate ordeactivate an electrosurgical/ultrasonic instrument used in an ORprocedure. In other aspects, the accessory may comprise multiplefootswitches or other devices coupled to the modular energy system 2000,3000, 6000.

FIG. 41 is a schematic representation of a wireless mesh network 4510,in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure. Thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that a wireless mesh network (WMN)may be any communications network made up of radio nodes organized in amesh topology. The WMN can also be implemented in the form of a wirelessad hoc network. A mesh refers to rich interconnection among devices ornodes 1-11. Wireless mesh networks may comprise of mesh clients, meshrouters, and gateways. This differs from typical point-to-point or“star” topologies in that any “node” 1-11 on the mesh 4510 cancommunicate with one, many, or all other nodes 1-11 on the mesh 4510. Inone aspect, the wireless mesh network 4510 may be implemented as aBluetooth Mesh, a relatively new wireless standard that supportscommunications in a WMN. Further, nodes 1-11 can “forward” messages toother nodes 1-11 to allow for long-range communication, or for redundantcommunication paths.

FIG. 42 is a bock diagram of a modular energy system 2000, 3000, 6000comprising multiple radios 4512, 4516, in accordance with at least oneaspect of the present disclosure. Each radio 4512, 4516 is configured totransmit or receive unique wireless signals 4514, 4518, respectivelycommunicated over the wireless mesh network 4510 (FIG. 41).

FIG. 43 is a diagram of a footswitch 4520 comprising multiple radios4522, 4526, in accordance with at least aspect of the presentdisclosure. Each radio 4522, 4526 is configured to transmit or receiveunique wireless signals 4524, 4528 communicated over the wireless meshnetwork 4510 (FIG. 41).

With reference to FIGS. 40-43, each accessory in the OR 4500, such asthe footswitch 4520 may comprise multiple radios 4522, 4526 to transmitor receive wireless signals 4524, 4528 to communicate with the modularenergy system 2000, 3000, 6000 over the wireless mesh network 4510. Eachfootswitch 4520 radio 4522, 4526 determines the state of the footswitch4520. Each modular energy system 2000, 3000, 6000 radio 4512, 4516 andfootswitch 4520 radio 4522, 4526 defines one or more than one node 1-11defined by the wireless mesh network 4510. Thus, in the instance of aradio 4512 failure, other radios 4516, 4522, 4526 would be operationalin the wireless mesh network 4510. It will appreciated that the modularenergy system 2000, 3000, 6000 and the footswitch 4520 may comprise asingle radio. Single radio implementation would still provide a benefitto the wireless mesh network 4510 topology to overcome interference 4506in the OR 4500.

FIG. 44 shows an OR 4500 equipped with an accessory communicatingwirelessly to a modular energy system 2000, 3000, 6000 over a wirelessmesh network 4510 implemented by multiple radios 4512, 4516, 4522, 4526,in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure. Inexample illustrated in FIG. 44, the accessory is a wireless footswitch4502 in wireless communication with the modular energy system 2000,3000, 6000. The wireless mesh network 4510 (e.g., Bluetooth Mesh)comprising multiple nodes 1-11, for example, is implemented withmultiple radios 4512, 4516, 4522, 4526, among others, in the modularenergy system 2000, 3000, 6000 and footswitch 4530 accessory. Thewireless mesh network 4510 topology facilitates the implementation ofredundant wireless communication paths 4530, 4532, 4534, 4536, to form arobust wireless accessory communication network. Thus, if a wirelesscommunication path 4530 were to fail, there are three other wirelesscommunication paths 4532, 4534, 4536 still available for reliablecommunication.

In the example implementation illustrated in FIGS. 42-44, the wirelessfootswitch 4520 comprises two wireless radios 4524, 4526 defining twomesh nodes, e.g., Bluetooth Mesh nodes, each independently reading thestates of the footswitch 4520. This provides full redundancy at thefootswitch 4520 level. Further, the modular energy system 2000, 3000,6000 comprises two wireless radio 4512, 4516 defining two mesh nodes,e.g., Bluetooth Mesh nodes, creating redundancy at the modular energysystem 2000, 3000, 6000 level as well. The radios 4512, 4516, 4522, 4526(e.g., nodes) create redundant wireless communication paths 4530, 4532,4534, 4536 between the footswitch 4520 and the modular energy system2000, 3000, 6000.

FIG. 45 is an operating room 4500 (OR) configured with additional“repeater” nodes optionally be placed around the OR environment toprovide a robust wireless mesh network 4510, in accordance with at leastone aspect of the present disclosure. In the example shown in FIG. 45,the footswitch 4520 comprises a single radio 4522 to transmit andreceive wireless signals 4525 and defining a wireless node in thewireless mesh network 4510. The modular energy system 2000, 3000, 6000also comprises a single radio 4512 to transmit and receive wirelesssignals 4514 and defining another wireless node in the wireless meshnetwork 4510. To add redundancy to and improve robustness of thewireless mesh network 4510 in the OR 4500, additional nodes may belocated in the OR 4550, e.g., underneath a table, on ceiling, etc. Theseadditional nodes 4540, 4544, 4548 each can receive and transmitswireless signals 4542, 4546, 4550, respectively, over redundant wirelesscommunication paths 4552, 4554, 4556, 4558, 4560, 4562, 4564, 4566,4568, 4570 to forward messages to other nodes, creating redundant nodesin the wireless mesh network 4510 between the footswitch 4520 and themodular energy system 2000, 3000, 6000. The redundant wirelesscommunication paths 4552-4570 result in a redundant wireless meshnetwork 4510 that is robust to single (or multiple) fault conditions.

The wireless mesh network 4510 shown in FIG. 45 increases the maximumdistance between the footswitch 4520 and the modular energy system 2000and increases redundancy in communication paths 4552, 4554, 4556, 4558,4560, 4562, 4564, 4566, 4568, 4570. Although the example shown in FIG.45 shows only one active radio 4522 in the footswitch 4520 and oneactive radio 4512 in the modular energy system 2000, 3000, 6000, thiscan be expanded to multiple radios per footswitch 4520 and modularenergy system 2000, 3000, 6000.

FIG. 46 shows the OR 4500 shown in FIG. 45 with interference 4506blocking some of the communication paths 4556, 4566, 4568 andcommunications routed to other nodes in the wireless mesh network 4510,in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.Despite this interference 4506, the communication can occur by goingaround the interference 4506 along other functional communication paths4552, 4554, 4558, 4560, 4562, 4564, 4570, for example.

The wireless mesh network 4510 described with reference to FIGS. 41-46may be expandable to many accessories, such as the footswitch 4520, forexample, where each additional accessory comprises radios that acts asnodes to strengthen the network. The wireless mesh network 4510 providesa robust wireless communication system that is tolerant to externalinterference and long distances. In other aspects, Bluetooth wirelessmodules that may be employed to implement the wireless mesh network areadvantageous due to their relatively low cost and ease of installation.Further, the wireless mesh network 4510 provides security to supportpublic/private key authentication and encryption, permission levels atnetwork, node, and application levels, and can be used in low-power(battery powered) situations.

EXAMPLES

Various aspects of modular energy systems comprising energy deliverymitigation techniques described herein with reference to FIGS. 39-46 areset out in the following numbered examples.

Example 1. An isolated interface circuit for a modular energy system,the isolated interface circuit comprising: a comparator comprising afirst input configured to couple to a switch, a second input configuredto couple to a reference voltage, and an output; a duplicate comparatorcomprising a first input configured to couple to the switch, a secondinput configured to couple to the reference voltage, and an output; anexpander circuit comprising at least two inputs, wherein the output ofthe comparator is coupled to one of the at least two inputs of theexpander circuit, and wherein the output of the duplicate comparator iscoupled to other of the at least two inputs of the expander circuit, theexpander circuit comprising an output; an isolator circuit comprising aninput and an output, wherein the input is coupled to the output of theexpander circuit; and a controller coupled to the output of the isolatorcircuit, wherein the controller is configured to: compare the output ofthe comparator with the output of the duplicate comparator; anddetermine activation or deactivation of a surgical instrument coupled tothe controller based on the comparison.

Example 2. The isolated switch interface circuit of Example 1,comprising: an analog to digital converter (ADC) coupled to thecontroller through the isolator circuit; and a switch identificationcircuit coupled to the ADC, wherein the switch identification circuit isconfigured to identify a type of switch coupled to the comparator andduplicate comparator.

Example 3. The isolated interface circuit of any one or more of Examples1 through 2, wherein the isolator circuit comprises a digital isolatorcircuit.

Example 4. The isolated interface circuit of any one or more of Examples1 through 3, wherein the comparator and duplicate comparator areconfigured to couple to multiple switches, the comparator comprisingmultiple comparators configured to couple to each of the multipleswitches, and the duplicate comparator comprising multiple comparatorsconfigured to couple to each of the multiple switches; and wherein thecontroller is configured to compare the outputs of each of the multiplecomparators with the corresponding outputs of each of the duplicatecomparators.

Example 5. The isolated interface circuit of any one or more of Examples1 through 4, wherein the comparator and duplicate comparator areconfigured to couple to a footswitch.

Example 6. The isolated interface circuit of any one or more of Examples1 through 5, wherein the output of the isolator circuit is a digitalserial communication bus.

Example 7. An isolated interface circuit for a modular energy system,the isolated interface circuit comprising: a first comparator comprisinga first input configured to couple to a first switch, a second inputconfigured to couple to a reference voltage, and an output; a secondcomparator comprising a first input configured to couple to a secondswitch, a second input configured to couple to the reference voltage,and an output; a first duplicate comparator comprising a first inputconfigured to couple to the first switch, a second input configured tocouple to the reference voltage, and an output; a second duplicatecomparator comprising a first input configured to couple to the secondswitch, a second input configured to couple to the reference voltage,and an output; an expander circuit comprising at least four inputs,wherein each of the outputs of the first and second comparators iscoupled to an input of the expander circuit, and wherein each of theoutputs of the first and second duplicate comparators is coupled aninput of the expander circuit, the expander circuit comprising anoutput; an isolator circuit comprising an input and an output, whereinthe input is coupled to the output of the expander circuit; and acontroller coupled to the output of the isolator circuit, wherein thecontroller is configure to: compare the output of the first comparatorwith the output of the first duplicate comparator; compare the output ofthe second comparator with the output of the second duplicatecomparator; and determine activation or deactivation of a surgicalinstrument coupled to the controller based on the comparison.

Example 8. The isolated interface circuit of Example 7, comprising: ananalog to digital converter (ADC) coupled to the controller through theisolator circuit; and a switch identification circuit coupled to theADC, wherein the switch identification circuit is configured to identifya type of switch.

Example 9. The isolated interface circuit of any one or more of Examples7 through 8, comprising any one of a comparator reference voltage,supply voltage, or switch voltage applied to the ADC, or any combinationthereof.

Example 10. The isolated interface circuit of any one or more ofExamples 7 through 9, wherein the isolator circuit comprises a digitalisolator circuit.

Example 11. The isolated interface circuit of any one or more ofExamples 7 through 10, wherein the first and second comparators and thefirst and second duplicate comparators are configured to couple to afootswitch.

Example 12. The isolated interface circuit of Example 11, wherein thefootswitch comprises a first and second switch, wherein the first switchrepresents a first state of the footswitch and the second switchrepresents a second state of the footswitch.

Example 13. The isolated interface circuit of any one or more ofExamples 11 through 12, wherein the footswitch comprises multiplefootswitches, wherein each of the multiple footswitches comprises afootswitch identification circuit coupled to an analog to digitalconverter (ADC) coupled to the controller through the isolator circuit,wherein each of the footswitch identification circuits is configured toidentify a type of foot switch.

Example 14. The isolated interface circuit of any one or more ofExamples 7 through 13, wherein the output of the isolator circuit is asingle digital serial communication bus.

Example 15. A method of mitigating erroneous outputs from an isolatedinterface circuit for a modular energy system, the method comprising:receiving, at a first input of a first comparator, a state of a firstswitch of a first footswitch coupled to the first input of the firstcomparator and a reference voltage coupled to a second input of thefirst comparator; receiving, at a first input of a first duplicatecomparator, the state of the first switch coupled to the first input ofthe first duplicate comparator and the reference voltage coupled to asecond input of the first duplicate comparator; comparing, by acontroller coupled to outputs of the first comparator and the firstduplicate comparator, the output of the first comparator with the outputof the first duplicate comparator; and determining, by the controller,activation or deactivation of a surgical instrument coupled to thecontroller based on the comparison.

Example 16. The method of Example 15, comprising: receiving, by ananalog to digital converter (ADC) coupled to the controller, a firstfootswitch identification signal; and identifying, by the controller, atype of the first footswitch based on the first footswitchidentification signal.

Example 17. The method of Example 16, comprising: receiving, by the ADC,any one of a comparator reference voltage, supply voltage, or switchvoltage; measuring, by the controller, the comparator reference voltage,supply voltage, or switch voltage applied to the ADC; determining, bythe controller, that the comparator reference voltage, supply voltage,or switch voltage is within predetermined limits; and enabling, by thecontroller, activation of the surgical instrument in the instance thatthe comparator reference voltage, supply voltage, or switch voltage iswithin the predetermined limits; disabling, by the controller,activation of the surgical instrument in the instance that thecomparator reference voltage, supply voltage, or switch voltage is notwithin the predetermined limits.

Example 18. The method of any one or more of Examples 15 through 17,comprising: receiving, at a first input of a second comparator, a stateof a second switch of the first footswitch coupled to the first input ofthe second comparator and a reference voltage coupled to a second inputof the second comparator; receiving, at a first input of a secondduplicate comparator, the state of the second switch coupled to thefirst input of the second duplicate comparator and the reference voltagecoupled to a second input of the second duplicate comparator; comparing,by a controller coupled to outputs of the second comparator and thesecond duplicate comparator, the output of the second comparator withthe output of the second duplicate comparator; and determining, by thecontroller, activation or deactivation of a surgical instrument coupledto the controller based on the comparison.

Architecture for Modular Energy System

Having described a general implementation of modular energy systems2000, 3000, and 6000, and various surgical instruments usable therewith,for example, surgical instruments 2204, 2206, and 2208, the disclosurenow turns to various aspects of an architecture implementation formodular energy systems. In other aspects, these modular energy systemsare substantially similar to the modular energy system 2000, the modularenergy system 3000, and/or the modular energy system 6000 describedhereinabove. For the sake of brevity, various details of other modularenergy systems described in the following sections, which are similar tothe modular energy system 2000, the modular energy system 3000, and/orthe modular energy system 6000, are not repeated herein. Any aspect ofthe other modular energy systems described below can be brought into themodular energy system 2000, the modular energy system 3000, or themodular energy system 6000.

Extending Modular Energy System Backplane to External Devices

As described hereinbelow with reference to FIGS. 47-50, in variousaspects, the present disclosure provides modular energy systems 2000,3000, 6000 comprising a modular energy system backplane extended toexternal devices. As disclosed above, a modular energy system may becomposed of a header/User Interface (UI) module that may be incommunication with and/or control the operation of multiple functionalmodules. Such functional modules may include, without limitation, energymodules, communication modules, technology modules, visualizationmodules, or other modules that may be used during a surgical procedure.Both the header/UI module and the functional modules (together, themodules) may be coupled together to form the modular energy system. Inone aspect, the header/UI module and the functional modules may bestacked together with the header/UI module forming the top, or initialmodule. It may be recognized that the header/UI module does not have tobe the top or initial module of the stack of modules. In the stackedconfiguration, the lowest module—which may be a functional module—may beconsidered the terminal module.

Each of the functional modules, which may include the terminal module,may include a module control circuit and a local data bus. The localdata busses may be configured to conduct information among the variouscomponents within the modules and a module control circuit. The modulecontrol circuit may control and coordinate the operations and functionsof each of the modules. In one aspect, the local data bus of each of themodules may include a communication switch, a first switch data path indata communication with the communication switch, a second switch datapath in data communication with the communication switch, and a thirdswitch data path configured to permit data communication between thecommunication switch and the module control circuit. Additional detailsregarding the numbered data paths associated with each communicationswitch are more fully disclosed below with respect to FIGS. 48 and 49.

Further, the modular energy system may include an internal data buscomposed of a serial array of the local data busses of the plurality offunctional modules, including the terminal module, in which a thirdswitch data path of a functional module N is in data communication witha second switch data path of a functional module N+1, and a secondswitch data path of the terminal module is in data communication with athird switch data path of a preceding functional module. The initialmodule may include a physical layer transceiver (PHY) in datacommunication with an initial module control circuit. It may beunderstood that the internal data bus may further include or be in datacommunication with the physical layer transceiver (PHY) of the initialmodule. The physical layer transceiver (PHY) may also be in datacommunication with a second switch data path of a succeeding functionalmodule. The modular energy system may also include a termination unit indata communication with the third data path of the terminal module.Additional disclosures regarding the use and functions of thetermination unit may be found in the discussion of FIGS. 49 and 50,below. The header/UI module and the functional modules of the modularenergy system may communicate with each other over a backplanecomprising the internal data bus. The communication among and betweenthe modules may use any appropriate communication protocol, for exampleEthernet, USB, and FireWire.

As further disclosed above, a communication module may assist incontrolling the data and command traffic among and between thefunctional modules and the header/UI module. In some aspects, varioussurgical hubs and/or surgical systems can include a gateway 3058 that isconfigured to shuttle select traffic (i.e., data) between two disparatenetworks (e.g., an internal network and/or a hospital network) that arerunning different protocols. In some alternative aspects, thecommunication module may also include a gateway 3058 (see FIG. 15)permitting communication between the modular energy system and other,external, systems and devices. The communication module may incorporateany number of communication interfaces, for example Ethernet (see 3060FIG. 15) and USB (3062 see FIG. 15). In one example, the Ethernetinterface may permit the modular energy system to communicate withcomponents of the local hospital network using the approved hospitalnetworking protocols. In another example, the USB interface may permitcommunications with laptop computers, tablet computers, smart phones,and other smaller scale devices. Communications with such externaldevices may proceed according to the communication protocols associatedwith those devices.

In some instances, it may be useful to communicate with devices and/ornetworks external to the modular energy system according to the sameprotocols as used by the internal data bus of the modular energy system.In this way, a common communication protocol may be used to link theexternal devices with the modules of the modular energy system. It maybe recognized, for example, that external devices that rely oncommunication protocols that differ from those of the modular energysystem would require protocol translation between the modular energysystem and the external devices. Such protocol translation wouldnecessarily result in inefficiencies in communication. Thus, it may bemore efficient for the external devices and/or networks to beincorporated into the modular energy system communication network via anexternal extension of the modular energy system internal data bus(internal data bus extension). An example of such incorporation isillustrated in FIG. 14 in which an external system control unit 3024 ofan external control system 3010 may communicate with the modular energysystem over an internal data bus extension.

Alternatively, the modular energy system may use the internal data busextension to communicate with a surgical robot, a surgical hub, or anyother smart device or system. In one example, a surgeon may wish to usea small handheld electrosurgical device (such as one depicted in FIG. 4)for a procedure requiring precise hand control of the instrument. Asurgical robotic system may incorporate various optical systems andlights to illuminate the surgical field. The position and orientation ofthe electrosurgical device may be determined by a module of the modularenergy system. The module may rapidly transmit the position andorientation of the electrosurgical instrument via the internal data busand the internal data bus extension to the surgical robotic system. Theposition and orientation of the electrosurgical instrument may be usedby the surgical robotic system to properly place and orient illuminationto optimize the visualization of the surgical field. Thus, it may berecognized that having such external devices in direct communicationwith the modular energy system data bus may improve, accelerate, andsimplify communication and control among the components of the internaldata bus and the external device and/or system.

FIG. 47 depicts a block diagram of multiple external modules 4620 a,bconnected via an internal data bus extension 4615 to a modular energysystem 4600. The internal data bus extension 4615 may be connected tothe external modules 4620 a,b via communication interfaces 4624 a,b. Theinternal data bus extension 4615 may be connected to the modular energysystem 4600 via communication interface 4614.

The modular energy system 4600 may include a header module 4602 andmultiple functional modules 4604 a,b. The header module 4602 and themultiple functional modules 4604 a,b may all communicate via the modularenergy system internal data bus 4608. In a non-limiting example, themodular energy system 4600 may use an Ethernet protocol forcommunication over the internal data bus 4608. In another example, themodular system 4600 may use a USB protocol for communication over theinternal data bus 4608. It may be recognized that any suitablecommunication protocol may be used for data and instructioncommunication over the internal data bus 4608. The internal data bus4608 may include bus connectors 4609 a,b which provide physical andcommunication connections between successive modules such as functionalmodules 4604 a,b. The internal data bus 4608 may also includeappropriate conductive traces or wires 4607 along which thecommunication protocol signals may be transmitted. In some aspects, theconductive traces or wires 4607 may terminate at a module controller4605 a,b for each of the functional modules 4604 a,b. The modulecontrollers 4605 a,b, may include components to control the operationsof the functional modules 4604 a,b, as disclosed above. As depicted inFIG. 47, the various modules that comprise the module energy system 4600may be arranged as a stack of modules interconnected by their busconnectors 4609 a,b. In one configuration, an initial module may includethe header module/UI 4602. In alternative configurations, the headermodule/UI 4602 may be disposed elsewhere within the stack of modules.Similarly, there may be a terminal module (for example functional module4604 b), which is the lowest module of the stack. In some additionalexamples, a termination unit (not shown) may be placed in datacommunication with the bus connector 4609 b (the lowest connector) inthe terminal module. Such a termination unit may be used to terminate atleast one end of the internal data bus 4608. Additional disclosuresregarding the use and functions of the termination unit may be found inthe discussion of FIGS. 49 and 50, below.

In some aspects, the header module/UI 4602 may include a header controlcircuit 4612 which may control the various operations of the headermodule/UI 4602 as disclosed above. In some aspects, the header module/UI4602 may control the operations of the function modules 4604 a,b viacommands and data transmitted and received over the internal data bus4608. In some aspects, the control circuit 4612 of the header module/UI4602 may also include a routing system 4613. In other aspects, therouting system 4613 may be incorporated into another functional module,for example in a communications module. The module of a modular energysystem 4600 that incorporates the routing system 4613 may be called ahost module. In some exemplary systems, the routing system 4613 may bephysically fixed within the host module. In other exemplary systems, therouting system 4613 may be detachably associated with the host module.The module hosting a detachably associated routing system 4613—theheader module/UI 4602, the communication module, or another module thatis part of the modular energy system 4600—may further include electroniccomponents, such as hardware and/or software, which are configured todetect a presence of a detachably associated routing system 4613. Thus,in some aspect, a detachably associated routing system 4613 may beconsidered an upgrade to a pre-existing modular energy system 4600. Oncea host module detects the present of a routing system 4613 (either fixedor detachable), the host module may then communicate with the externalmodules 4620 a,b over the internal data bus extension 4615.

In some aspects, the routing system 4613 may be in data communicationwith both the internal data bus 4608 and the internal data bus extension4615. The routing system 4613 may serve to control communicationsbetween the internal data bus 4608 and the internal data bus extension4615. In this manner, the routing system 4613 may control datacommunication between the internal data bus 4608 and the external module4620 a,b in which the external module 4620 a,b comprises a device orsystem separate from the modular energy system.

It may be recognized that each of the external modules 4620 a,b mayinclude an external module control circuit 4622 a,b, which maycoordinate and direct the functions of the respective external module4620 a,b. Each of the external module control circuits 4622 a,b, may bein communication with the modular energy system 4600 over the internaldata bus extension 4615. In this manner, each of the external modulecontrol circuits 4622 a,b may functionally become an extension of themodular energy system 4600.

As disclosed above, the ability to extend the internal data bus 4608 ofa modular energy system 4600 to external devices 4620 a,b and/or systemsmay permit fast and accurate communications between the energy system4600 and the other systems that may comprise a smart surgicalenvironment (such as a surgical robot). It is recognized, however, thatunprotected communication devices may be susceptible to unwantedinfluences over the communication lines, for example by system hackers.Therefore, as with any networked device, a modular energy system 4600networked to external devices 4620 a,b and systems runs the risk ofinterference with its operations. This is especially serious when themodular energy system 4600 is involved with a surgical procedure. It istherefore important to protect the modular energy system 4600 frominterference from communications transmitted over the extendedcommunication backplane 4615 into the internal communication backplane4608.

A routing system 4613 may be used to coordinate the communicationtraffic between the internal data bus 4608 and the internal data busextension 4615. A routing system 4613 may include components that notonly cause communication data packets to be switched between data busses(such as the internal data bus 4608 and the internal data bus extension4615) but also include software and/or firmware to control the types ofcommunication data packets exchanged between the busses according totheir origin, destination, and specific protocols associated with thecommunication data packet. Thus, an intelligent routing system 4613 maycomprise a routing system processor and a routing system memory unit.The routing system memory unit may store instructions that, whenexecuted by the routing system processor, cause the processor to executeone or more communication security protocols. In some examples, thecommunication security protocols may include one or more of a MACaddress table filter, a communication data packet filter based on an IPaddress, a software protocol, or a port number, stateful communicationdata packet inspection, and an application layer firewall.

Ethernet Switch Configuration for Backplane Reliability

As described hereinbelow with reference to FIGS. 48-50, in variousaspects, the present disclosure provides modular energy systems 2000,3000, 6000 comprising Ethernet switch configuration for backplanereliability. As disclosed above, a modular energy system may be composedof a header/User Interface (UI) module that may be in communication withand/or control the operation of multiple functional modules. Suchfunctional modules may include, without limitation, energy modules,communication modules, technology modules, visualization modules, orother modules that may be used during a surgical procedure. Both theheader/UI module and the functional modules (together, the modules) maybe coupled together to form the modular energy system. In one aspect,the header/UI module and the functional modules may be stacked togetherwith the header/UI module forming the top, or initial module. It may berecognized that the header/UI module does not have to be the top orinitial module of the stack of modules. In the stacked configuration,the lowest module—which may be a functional module—may be considered theterminal module.

Each of the functional modules, which may include the terminal module,may include a module control circuit and a local data bus. The localdata busses may be configured to conduct information among the variouscomponents within the modules and a module control circuit. The modulecontrol circuit may control and coordinate the operations and functionsof each of the modules. In one aspect, the local data bus of each of themodules may include a communication switch, a first switch data path indata communication with the communication switch, a second switch datapath in data communication with the communication switch, and a thirdswitch data path configured to permit data communication between thecommunication switch and the module control circuit. Additional detailsregarding the numbered data paths associated with each communicationswitch are more fully disclosed below with respect to FIGS. 48 and 49.

Further, the modular energy system may include an internal data buscomposed of a serial array of the local data busses of the plurality offunctional modules, including the terminal module, in which a thirdswitch data path of a functional module N is in data communication witha second switch data path of a functional module N+1, and a secondswitch data path of the terminal module is in data communication with athird switch data path of a preceding functional module. The initialmodule may include a physical layer transceiver (PHY) in datacommunication with an initial module control circuit. It may beunderstood that the internal data bus may further include or be in datacommunication with the physical layer transceiver (PHY) of the initialmodule. The physical layer transceiver (PHY) may also be in datacommunication with a second switch data path of a succeeding functionalmodule. The modular energy system may also include a termination unit indata communication with the third data path of the terminal module.Additional disclosures regarding the use and functions of thetermination unit may be found in the discussion of FIGS. 49 and 50,below. The header/UI module and the functional modules of the modularenergy system may communicate with each other over a backplanecomprising the internal data bus. The communication among and betweenthe modules may use any appropriate communication protocol, for exampleEthernet, USB, and FireWire.

In one aspect, the internal data bus of the modular energy system mayrely upon an Ethernet protocol for communications between the modules,which may include, without limitation, the functional modules and anyheader I/U module. As disclosed above, the internal data bus of themodular energy system may be composed of serially connected local databusses of the individual modules. It may be readily recognized that anerror or fault in any one of the individual local data busses maydisrupt or even prevent communications along the entirety of theinternal data bus. For example, a fault in one of the components of thelocal data bus of a module N (for example a failure of the module Ncommunication switch) may result in a blockage of communications betweena module N−1 (a module preceding module N in the internal data busserial array) and a module N+1 (a module succeeding module N in theinternal data bus serial array). It is therefore important to provide afail-over mechanism to prevent a fault in one of the local data bussesfrom affecting communications among the modules around it.

FIGS. 48 and 49 depict communication circuitry, which may beincorporated into the local data busses of the modules of the modularenergy source. Specifically, FIG. 48 depicts the communication circuitrywhen all of the local data busses are functioning normally. FIG. 49illustrates the communication circuitry when the local data bus for amodule N does not properly function.

FIG. 48 illustrates an internal data bus 4630 of a modular energy systemcomposed of a serial array of local data busses 4632 a-d. Each data bus4632 a-d is incorporated in a separate energy system module (which maybe a functional module or a header/UI module). For the sake ofsimplicity, and without loss of generality, energy system Module N maybe assigned to the energy system module that incorporates local data bus4632 b. Following this convention, energy system Module N−1 may beassigned to the energy system module that incorporates local data bus4632 a, energy system Module N+1 may be assigned to the energy systemmodule that incorporates local data bus 4632 c, and energy system ModuleN+2 may be assigned to the energy system module that incorporates localdata bus 4632 d. It may be understood that the designations of ModuleN−1, N, N+1, and N+2 are arbitrary as long as the designations refer tosuccesses energy modules in the internal data bus. Again, forsimplicity, a detailed discussion of the components of local data bus4632 b is now presented. It may be understood that the components,connectivity, and bus structures of each of the local data busses (4632a-d) is similarly described.

Local data bus 4632 b may include a communication switch 4635 that, insome non-limiting examples, may be composed of an Ethernet switch. Thecommunication switch 4635 may be in data communication with a pluralityof data switch paths. A first switch data path 4637 may be configured topermit data communication between the communication switch 4635 and themodule control circuit 4634 of the module. As previously disclosed, themodule control circuit 4634 may be configured to control the functionaland communication operations of the module (here, Module N). A secondswitch data path 4639 may be in data communication with thecommunication switch 4635, and a third switch data path 4640 be in datacommunication with the communication switch 4635. The communicationswitch 4635 may also be in communication with a fourth switch data path4642. It may be understood that a communication switch 4635 may functionto direct communication or data signals from one of the switch paths4637, 4639, 4640, 4642 to another of the switch paths 4637, 4639, 4640,4642. The communication switch 4635 may have a switch path interface indata communication with each switch path 4637, 4639, 4640, 4642. Eachswitch path interface of the communication switch 4635 may bebi-directional, thereby permitting signals to either be received ortransmitted by the communication switch 4635 over the active switchpath.

According to some communication geometries, the second switch data path4639 of Module N may be in data communication with the equivalent thirdswitch data path of Module N−1. Similarly, the third switch data path4640 of Module N may be in data communication with the equivalent secondswitch data path of Module N+1. One may therefore consider thecommunication paths among three successive modules. Under normaloperating circumstances, a given communication data packet may betransmitted along the internal data bus 4630, being relayed from onemodule to a succeeding module along their respective internal databusses 4632 a-d by the respective communication switches 4635. The relaymay include transmitting a communication data packet down a third switchdata path 4640 of Module N to the second switch data path of thesucceeding module N+1, or up a second switch data path 4639 of Module Nto the third switch data path of the preceding Module N−1. Eachcommunication switch 4635 may read a destination address of thecommunication data packet and either relay the pack along the internalbus 4630 to a succeeding or preceding local data bus (one of 4632 a-d,as examples), or route the communication data packet to the modulecontrol circuit 4634 of the same module if the communication data packetaddress is for the same module. However, it may be recognized that ifone of the communication switches 4635 fails, no communication datapackets can be transmitted along the internal data bus 4630 beyond themodule having the failed communication switch 4635.

FIG. 49 illustrates how additional components of the individual localdata busses 4632 a-d may be used to route data and communication signalsaround a local data bus (for example local data bus 4632 b of Module N)to avoid issues with a failed communication switch 4635 b. In thepresent example, the data and/or communication signals may be routedbetween Module N+1 (local data bus 4632 c) and Module N−1 (local databus 4632 a) when the communication switch 4635 b of Module N isnon-functional.

The reference numbers illustrated in FIG. 48 also apply to FIG. 49. Inaddition to the components disclosed in FIG. 48, FIG. 49 further pointsout and describes additional components also depicted in FIG. 48. Thus,each of the local data busses 4632 a-d further includes a multiplexer,for example multiplexers 4650 a-c (as specified for the relevant localdata busses 4632 a-c). Each multiplexer, for example multiplexers 4650a-c, is in data communication with a first multiplex data path (forexample 4652 a-c, as specified for the relevant local data busses 4632a-c). The first multiplex data path 4652 a-c may be in datacommunication with the relevant fourth switch data path. Thus, forexample, 4652 b of local data bus 4632 b may be in data communicationwith fourth switch data path 4642 of local data bus 4632 b in FIG. 48.Additionally, each multiplexer 4650 a-c may have a second multiplex datapath (such as 4654 a of local data bus 4632 a) and a third multiplexdata path (such as 4656 c of local data bus 4632 c). In one aspect, themultiplexers 4650 a-c may be configured to direct data communicationsbetween the first multiplex data path 4652 a-c and the second multiplexdata path (such as 4654 a of local data bus 4632 a). In another aspect,the multiplexers 4650 a-c may be configured to direct datacommunications between the first multiplex data path 4652 a-c and thethird multiplex data path (such as 4656 c of local data bus 4632 c). Thedirection of data communications of a multiplexer 4650 a-c may bedetermined based on a logic level of a data path selection line (such as4658 b of local data bus 4632 b) of the multiplexer 4650 a-c. It may beobserved in FIGS. 48 and 49 that the second multiplex data path (such as4654 a of local data bus 4632 a, corresponding to module N−1) is in datacommunication with the third multiplex data path (such as 4656 c oflocal data bus 4632 c corresponding to module N+1). Thus, communicationdata packets can be transferred not between succeeding local data busses(that is, for example, between 4632 a and 4632 b) but betweenalternating local data busses (that is, for example, between 4632 a and4632 c).

The operation of the fail-over mechanism may be generalized with respectto the components disclosed above for FIGS. 48 and 49. It may berecognized that the fail-over mechanism is activated among the threesuccessive local data busses of three successive modules of the modularenergy system, here, modules N−1, N, and N+1. As previously described,typical communications between the modules of a modular energy system asdisclosed above, run through an internal data bus comprising a serialarray of local data buses for the modules. Thus, without loss ofgenerally, a communication data packet originating in Module N−2 may bedelivered to Module N+1 by sequentially traversing the local data busesof Module N−1 and Module N. The communication data packet may begenerated by a control circuit of Module N−2 and transmitted to thecommunication switch of Module N−2 over the first switch data path ofthe communication switch of Module N−2. The communication switch ofModule N−2 may then transmit the communication data packet over thethird switch data path of the Module N−2 communication switch to thesecond switch data path of the Module N−1 communication switch. TheModule N−1 communication switch may receive the communication datapacket over the second switch data path of the Module N−1 communicationswitch and relay the communication data packet over the third switchdata path of the Module N−1 communication switch for receipt by thesecond switch data path of the Module N communication switch. Thecommunication data packet may be similarly transmitted to the Module N+1communication switch for delivery to the control circuit of Module N+1(over the first switch data path).

In one exemplary aspect, under normal operations, the data transmissiondirection of multiplexer of each module (for example the multiplexer ofModule N) may be controlled by the communication switch of thesucceeding module (communication switch of Module N+1). In one aspect,the default operation of the communication switch of Module N+1 may beto configure the multiplexer of Module N to permit data transfer betweenthe first multiplex data path and the third multiplex data path of themultiplexer of Module N. Therefore, the defaultmultiplexer-to-multiplexer communication path would be from Module N toModule N−2. This multiplexer-to-multiplexer communication pathgeneralizes to a unidirectional pathway from a first module to a secondmodule preceding the first module by two.

In the event that the communication switch of Module N fails, thecommunication switch of Module N may reconfigure the operations of themultiplexer of Module N−1. In this reconfiguration, data communicationsbetween the first multiplex data path and the second multiplex data pathof the Module N−1 multiplexer would be permitted. Thus, on failure ofthe Module N communication switch, a bidirectionalmultiplexer-to-multiplexer communication path may be enabled betweenModule N+1 and Module N−1. Specifically, data from the module N+1communication switch may traverse the fourth switch data path to thethird multiplex data path of the multiplexer of Module N+1. Thecommunication data may then traverse the connection between the ModuleN+1 multiplexer to the multiplexer of Module N−1. The resultingtransmission would enter the multiplexer of Module N−1 at the secondmultiplex data path and proceed through the first multiplex data path tothe communication switch via the fourth switch data path of Module N−1.This multiplexer-to-multiplexer communication path generalizes to abidirectional pathway between any two modules that can be designated asalternating modules N−1 and N+1.

Additionally, in the event that the communication switch of Module Nfails, both Module N+1 and Module N−1 can detect that Module N hasfailed. For example, Module N+1 or Module N−1 may not receiveacknowledgement packets after transmitting communication data packets toModule N. Detection of the Module N communication switch failure mayresult in Module N+1 and Module N−1 to resort to a link aggregationprocess. In this process, the communication switch of Module N+1 mayreroute communication from the Module N+1 second switch data path to theModule N+1 fourth switch data path, permitting communication through theModule N+1 multiplexer first multiplex data path. Similarly, thecommunication switch of Module N−1 may reroute communication from theModule N−1 third switch data path to the Module N−1 fourth switch datapath, permitting communication through the Module N−1 multiplexer firstmultiplex data path. Because the multiplexers are alternately connected(and not sequentially connected), the multiplexers, communicationsthrough the internal data bus of the modular energy system may continueeven if one of the serially connected communication switches isdisabled.

Because the fail-over communication method requires communicationtransmissions between alternating modules (for example, between ModuleN−1 and Module N+1), a question may arise regarding transmissions if thecommunication fault occurs at the penultimate module of the modularenergy source. In reference to FIG. 49, and without loss of generality,one may consider that labeled Module N+2 is the terminal module of themodular energy system. In the event of a fault in the communicationswitch 4635 c of Module N+1, the communications must be routed betweenModule N+2 and Module N. However, the multiplexer 4650 d of Module N+2must be configured to permit communications between communication switch4635 d of Module N+2 and communication switch 4635 b of Module N. Thus,data path selection line 4658 d for the multiplexer 4650 d must be setto an appropriate value to ensure the communication output from thefourth switch data path of communication switch 4635 d is routed throughthe first multiplexer line of multiplexer 4650 d through the thirdmultiplex data path 4656 d to the second multiplex data path 4654 b ofmultiplexer 4650 b of Module N. Additionally, second multiplex datapaths of multiplexers 4650 c (Module N+1) and 4650 d (Module N+2) mayalso require electrical termination. Similarly, the third switch datapath of data switch 4635 d of Module N+2 should also be electricallyterminated. Thus, termination unit 4677 may be connected to the localbus of the terminal module (in this example, local bus 4632 d of ModuleN+2). Additionally, termination unit 4677 may provide an appropriateelectrical termination for the internal data bus or the local data busof a particular module to which it is affixed, for example 4632 d.Additionally, the termination unit 4677 may configure the data pathselection line 4658 d of the of the terminal module to which it isaffixed to permit communications between the first multiplex data pathof multiplexer 4650 d and the third multiple data path 4656 d.

Multiple Addressing Mitigation and Self-Check

As described hereinbelow still with reference to FIGS. 48-50, in variousaspects, the present disclosure provides modular energy systems 2000,3000, 6000 comprising multiple addressing mitigation and self-checkcircuits and techniques. As disclosed above, a modular energy system maybe composed of a header/User Interface (UI) module that may be incommunication with and/or control the operation of multiple functionalmodules. Such functional modules may include, without limitation, energymodules, communication modules, technology modules, visualizationmodules, or other modules that may be used during a surgical procedure.Both the header/UI module and the functional modules (together, themodules) may be coupled together to form the modular energy system. Inone aspect, the header/UI module and the functional modules may bestacked together with the header/UI module forming the top, or initialmodule. It may be recognized that the header/UI module does not have tobe the top or initial module of the stack of modules. In the stackedconfiguration, the lowest module—which may be a functional module—may beconsidered the terminal module.

Each of the functional modules, which may include the terminal module,may include a module control circuit and a local data bus. The localdata busses may be configured to conduct information among the variouscomponents within the modules and a module control circuit. The modulecontrol circuit may control and coordinate the operations and functionsof each of the modules. In one aspect, the local data bus of each of themodules may include a communication switch, a first switch data path indata communication with the communication switch, a second switch datapath in data communication with the communication switch, and a thirdswitch data path configured to permit data communication between thecommunication switch and the module control circuit. Additional detailsregarding the numbered data paths associated with each communicationswitch are more fully disclosed above with respect to FIGS. 48 and 49.

Further, the modular energy system may include an internal data buscomposed of a serial array of the local data busses of the plurality offunctional modules, including the terminal module, in which a thirdswitch data path of a functional module N is in data communication witha second switch data path of a functional module N+1, and a secondswitch data path of the terminal module is in data communication with athird switch data path of a preceding functional module. The initialmodule may include a physical layer transceiver (PHY) in datacommunication with an initial module control circuit. It may beunderstood that the internal data bus may further include or be in datacommunication with the physical layer transceiver (PHY) of the initialmodule. The physical layer transceiver (PHY) may also be in datacommunication with a second switch data path of a succeeding functionalmodule. The modular energy system may also include a termination unit indata communication with the third data path of the terminal module.Additional disclosures regarding the use and functions of thetermination unit may be found in the discussion of FIGS. 49, and 50,below. The header/UI module and the functional modules of the modularenergy system may communicate with each other over a backplanecomprising the internal data bus. The communication among and betweenthe modules may use any appropriate communication protocol, for exampleEthernet, USB, and FireWire.

As previously disclosed, communication data packets may be transferredamong the various modules comprising the modular energy system along theinternal data bus. In many communication protocols involving multiplenodes, the communication data packets may include a source address(identifying the originator of the communication data packet) and adestination address (identifying the intended recipient of thecommunication data packet). Therefore, each node along the communicationnetwork must have an address specific to that node in order to identifyit in the communication transfer.

In a realization of one type of a data network, the individual nodes maybe represented by individual computer boards physically plugged into aninterface in a common backplane. In one aspect, the backplane may bepart of a chassis to secure and hold the computer boards. In thisaspect, addresses may be associated with each interface, and the boardsthemselves do not require circuitry to define their respectiveaddresses. In another realization, the individual nodes may beindividual standalone modules, which may be deployed as a serial arrayof sequentially connected modules. In some aspects, each module mayinclude circuitry to define the address of the node. Such circuitry mayinclude DIP switches, jumpers, or other adjustable circuits to definethe addresses. Alternatively, such address defining circuitry mayinclude a static or programmable circuit component, such as a ROM, PROM,EPROM, or similar, which may include the address of the module. It maybe recognized that communication errors may arise if multiple moduleshave their adjustable addressing circuits set to identical values. Itmay also be recognized that the use of static or programmable circuitcomponents may increase manufacturing costs and complexity to assurethat each manufactured module has a different address built into thestatic or programmable circuit component. An alternative realization ofthe data network may be a serial array of standalone modules in whicheach module can generate a local communication address based on thecommunication address of the preceding module. If properly configured,the address generation circuitry may permit each module along a serialcommunication line to generate a separate communication address fromamong the 2^(n) possible addresses of an n-line address bus.

It may thus be understood that each module comprises circuitry necessaryto generate a local communication address from the communication addressof a previous module along the serial communication chain. As a resultof this topology, a module that is unable to properly generate a localcommunication address may affect communication not only with thatmodule, but with all succeeding modules along the communication chain.Faults in generating a local address may be due, for example, to faultyor broken connections between a local data bus of a module and the localdata bus of the preceding module to which it is connected. Thus, thecommunication integrity along the serial bus should be monitored forimproper local addressing. FIG. 50 depicts a mechanism both forgenerating local communication address values from an n-line addressbus, and also a mechanism for detecting a fault in the generation of thelocal address.

FIG. 50 illustrates an example of an internal data bus 4660 comprisingmultiple modules. Without being limited in the topology of thecommunication, the top-most, or initial module of the internal data bus4660 may comprise a header/UI module. Any suitable number of functionalmodules may be incorporated along the internal data bus 4660. The final,or terminal, module comprises the last functional module in the seriesof functional modules along the internal data bus 4660. Each of themodules, including the header/UI module and all of the functionalmodules, includes a local data bus. As disclosed above, the internaldata bus 4660 is composed of a serial connection of all of the localdata busses of the modules. Depicted in FIG. 50, are the local databusses of the various modules including the local data bus 4661 of theheader/UI module, and the local data busses 4662 a-4662 t of thefunctional modules. The local data bus 4662 t of the terminal functionalmodule is specifically labeled as such.

In addition to the various components of the local data busses(4661,4662 a-t) as disclosed above, FIG. 50 depicts additionalcomponents. Thus, all of the local data busses also include a pluralityof address lines 4665, a predictive address parity circuit 4672, aparity comparison circuit 4674, a parity fault generation circuit 4667,and an address fault line 4663. Additionally, all of the modules exceptthe initial module may include a local address generator circuit 4673and a local address parity circuit 4675. The initial module alsoincludes an analog/digital converter 4666 to obtain a digital value ofthe voltage on the address fault line 4663.

The number of modules that can be addressed in a modular energy systemis generally 2^(n) in which n is the number of address lines. In theexample depicted in FIG. 50, there are three address lines, convenientlylabeled L₀, L₁, and L₂. Of course, the number of address lines isarbitrary. There may be any number of algorithms capable of generating alocal address value for a module n from a local address value of apreceding module n−1. FIG. 50 illustrates one non-limiting local addressgenerator circuit 4673 to do so. Local address generator circuit 4673relies upon interleaving succeeding addressing lines and adding a newaddress line formed from a logical combination of address lines. Asillustrated in local address generator circuit 4673, the values of theaddress lines for the succeeding module are calculate by

L ₀ ′←L ₁

L ₁ ′←L ₂

L ₂ ′←L ₀ ⊕L ₁

in which the unprimed lines are the values of the addresses of thepreceding Module N, the primed lines are the addresses of the succeedingModule N+1, and ⊕ is the logical XOR operation. Although this algorithmis depicted in FIG. 50, alternative algorithms may be used to generateaddress line values for a Module N+1 from the address line values forpreceding Module N. It may also be recognized that the address lines mayinclude any number of address lines for the purpose of generating uniqueaddresses for all of the modules in the modular energy system. Asdisclosed above, the number of address lines determines the maximumnumber of modules that may be sequentially connected in the modularenergy system. Thus, for example, two address lines would permit up tofour distinct device addresses, three address lines would permit up toeight distinct device addresses, four address lines would permit up tosixteen distinct device addresses, and similar.

As disclosed above, it is useful to assure that each module successfullygenerates its local communication address from the address of thepreceding module. One method of making such a determination may be tocompare the address of the succeeding Module N+1 with a predicted valuefor that address. This comparison may be made in the preceding Module N.Such a comparison may be made by comparing the value of each of theaddress line. However, it is recognized that a line-by-line addresscomparison becomes difficult as the number of address lines increases.Instead, it may be more useful to generate a parity value to representthe addresses. Again, there are multiple algorithms to generate a parityvalue for the address lines. As one non-limiting example, a localaddress parity circuit 4675 may be simply created as applying an XORoperation (⊕) to all of the address lines. Further, to ensure accuracy,the local address parity circuit 4675 may also generate an inverse ofthe parity value. Thus, the signals generated by the local addressparity circuit 4675 may be

P=L ₀ ⊕L ₁ ⊕L ₂

P′=P

in which P is the parity value and P′ is the inverse of the parityvalue.

Each Module N may calculate a predictive value of the parity values ofthe succeeding Module N+1 in a predictive address parity circuit 4672according to

{circumflex over (P)}=(L ₀ ⊕L ₁)⊕L ₁ ⊕L ₂

{circumflex over (P)}′={circumflex over ( P )}

in which L₀, L₁, and L₂ are the address line values of Module N. InModule N, the predicted parity values of the succeeding Module N+1 (here{circumflex over (P)} and {circumflex over (P)}′) may be compared, usingthe parity comparison circuit 4674 in Module N, to the parity valuescalculated by the local address parity circuit 4672 in succeeding ModuleN+1 (P and P′, respectively). In this manner, only 4 signals need to becompared to determine if the address of the succeeding Module N+1 iscorrect.

As disclosed above, each Module N compares the parity value of theaddress supplied by Module N+1 with a predictive parity value of theaddress of Module N+1. However, at the terminal module, Module T, thereis no succeeding module to supply a parity value. In one non-limitingexample of a technique to rectify this issue, a termination unit 4677may be affixed to a terminal end of the internal data bus 4660. Thetermination unit 4677 may include a local address parity circuit similarin function to predictive address parity circuit 4672. The resultingaddress parity values from the termination unit 4677 may be compared tothe predictive address parity circuit 4672 of terminal Module T. In thisway, each of the modules may determine an address fault in a succeedingmodule.

It may be understood that address faults in the modules that make up themodular energy system should be made known to the modular energy systemas a whole and to any user of the modular energy system. One or morehardware and/or software techniques may be used to report an addressfault in a module. One example of a technique to report an address faultmay be through an address parity fault generation circuit. Each modulemay include a parity fault generation circuit 4667 in its local databus. In a non-limiting and simple realization, the parity faultgeneration circuit 4667 may simply comprise a switch connecting theaddress fault line 4663 to ground. The address fault line may include asingle analog conductor connected to a voltage source 4670, such as astandby DC voltage (which may be +5V in some examples) in the initialmodule, such as the header/UI module. In each module local bus, a seriesresistor may be affixed in the address fault line 4663. Such seriesresistors are schematically depicted as resistors R₀, R₁, . . . R_(T) inFIG. 50. An initial current limiting resistor R₀ may be placed in seriesdownstream of the voltage source 4670. A voltage of the address faultline 4663 may be read by a sensor circuit 4666 disposed downstream ofthe current limiting resistor R₀. In one example, the sensor circuit4666 may be an analog/digital converter (ADC). In some aspects, theaddress fault line, the voltage source, and the sensor circuit may allbe incorporated into the local data bus of the initial module, such asthe header/UI module.

As disclosed above, the parity fault generation circuit 4667 of Module Nmay be triggered due to a mismatch in the address parity value fromModule N+1 and the predicted address parity value of Module N+1. Whenthe parity fault generation circuit 4667 of Module N is triggered, theaddress fault line 4663 will be shorted to ground by the faultgeneration circuit 4667 of Module N. When the address fault line 4663 isshorted to ground, the analog voltage of the address fault line 4663changes. The voltage read by the sensor circuit 4666 may have a valueproportional to the ratio of the sum of the values of the resistances ofthe resistors R₁ . . . R_(n) to the sum of all of the resistors, R₀ . .. R_(n), in which R_(n) is the value of the series resistor in theaddress fault line at Module N (where the fault is generated). Thevoltage value read by the sensor circuit 4666 may be converted to adigital value, and the digital value may be transmitted to a centralcontrol circuit. The central control, in turn, may use the voltage valueand the known number of modules to determine which of the n modules hassuffered an address fault. A notification circuit may then inform a userof the address fault in the modular energy system based on the voltagevalue obtained by the sensor circuit 4666. The user may then takeappropriate action to repair or replace the Module N+1 in the modularenergy system.

Standby Mode Fault User Feedback

As described hereinbelow with reference to FIG. 51, in various aspects,the present disclosure provides modular energy systems 2000, 3000, 6000comprising standby mode fault user feedback circuits and techniques. Asdisclosed above, various communication functions may be implemented inhardware and software to permit a user of the modular energy system, ora larger smart surgical system, to recognize that one or more errorconditions exist. In this way, the causes of such faults may be remediedby a user prior to initiating the use of one or more of the componentsof the smart surgical system. It may be recognized that identificationof such faults should be made as soon as possible once any of thecomponents or subsystems of the smart surgical system is powered on inorder to expedite remediation. Many user notifications may be presentedon boot-up of the processors of the various subsystems and components ofthe smart surgical system. Such notifications may include notificationsof communication faults, among others. Typically, unless a user sees afault notification, the user may assume that the components of the smartsurgical system are operating at nominal conditions. However, if thereis a fault in processor unit boot-up, the processor may not be able tonotify the user of any additional system errors. It may be only during asurgical procedure or the pre-surgical initiation procedures, that aboot-up fault is detected. Such late fault detection may serious impactthe surgical procedure, its start time, and procedure length.Consequently, it may be recognized that a method to determine an earlyprocessor boot-up fault for any processor component of the smartsurgical system may be critical to avoid surgical procedure delay orcancellation.

FIG. 51 depicts a flow chart 4700 of a process and components that maybe used to present a user with an indication of a processor boot-upfault. It may be recognized that such a process and components may beused for any processor component of the modular energy system (such asthe header/UI module alone, for each individual functional module, orfor the modular energy system as a single device) or any other system orsubsystem of the smart surgical system. The processors under test mayinclude, without limitation, any of the processors associated with eachof the individual modules, as well as additional processors, such as astandby processor that may control the overall operation of the modularenergy system.

Systems that may participate in a boot-up fault detection system mayinclude, without limitation, a processor under test 4720, a hardwaretiming circuit 4740, and a notification device. The notification devicemay be an audible device, a visual device, or any other device capableof alerting a user of a status of the modular energy device. In onenon-limiting aspect, the notification device may be a multicolorvisualization device 4760. As one non-limiting example, the multicolorvisualization device 4730 may be a three-color LED. In one non-limitingexample, the processor under test 4720 may include a control circuit ofone of the functional modules (or the header/UI module). It may beunderstood that the control circuit, in addition to having a processor,may also include one or more memory units configured to storeinstructions for execution by the modular energy system control circuit.In one non-limiting example, the processor under test 4720 may relate toa standby processor disposed within a header/UI module of the modularenergy system. In another example, the processor under test 4720 mayrelated to a processor disposed within a control circuit of one of thefunctional modules of the modular energy system.

The hardware timing circuit 4740 may be composed of any one or moreelectronic hardware timers and/or counters. In one non-limiting example,the hardware timing system 4740 may be a digital circuit which mayinclude a timing signal generator, a counter, and a digital comparator.The timing signal generator may be composed of a free-running oscillatorwhich generates a timing signal that may server as input to the counter.Alternatively, the timing signal may be obtained from an exogenoussource, such as an internet timing signal, a GPS signal source, or ashortwave radio source. The timing signal may be initiated when power isapplied to the computerized system. The counter may be a stand-alonecounter with a value that increments upon receiving transitions in thetiming signal. The digital comparator may compare a digital output ofthe stand-alone counter with the contents of a memory device designed tostore a digital representation of a predetermined value. Alternatively,the hardware timing system 4740 may be composed of an analog circuitincluding, for example, an RC (resistor-capacitor) circuit, a circuit togenerate a voltage threshold associated with the predetermined value,and an analog comparator. A timing voltage may be applied to the RCcircuit when power is applied to the computerized device. The analogcomparator may compare a voltage output of the RC circuit with thevoltage threshold. In some other examples, the hardware timing circuit4740 may include mixed analog/digital components such as a 555 timerintegrated circuit with a resistor and a capacitor, as is wellunderstood by those having ordinary skill in the art.

The multicolor visualization device 4760 may provide a visual indicatorto notify a user of the boot-up status of the processor.

The system for notifying a user of a processor boot-up fault may beginwith plugging the electrical power mains 4710 of the computerized systeminto the appropriate power receptacle. In some aspects, the second stepof the process may include activating 4715 the power switch of thecomputerized system. Alternatively, the boot-up fault system may notrequire activation 4715 of the power switch, but may be initiated simplyby plugging the electrical power mains 4710 into the power receptacle.Considering first the processor under test 4720, the processor mayinitiate 4722 its boot-up process. As disclosed above, the processorunder test may be a processor associated with any of the systems orsubsystems of the smart surgical system, including, for example, aprocessor of a modular energy system control circuit disposed within aheader/UI module. The boot-up process may comprise initiating theexecution of a series of instructions upon receipt of local power by thecomputerized device to initialize one or more functions of the processorunder test 4720. Depending on the complexity of the operating systembeing loaded into the processor and the number and types of self-testprograms being run during boot-up, there may be a boot-up process delaytime 4724 between the initiation 4722 of the boot up process and thecompletion 4726 of the boot-up process. In one aspect, a processorboot-up delay time 4724 may be about 10 μsec. In another aspect, theprocessor boot-up delay time 4724 may be about 200 μsec. Depending onthe nature of the processor, the processor clock, and the extent of thesoftware required to be executed, the boot-up delay time 4724 may be,for example, any value between about 10 μsec and about 200 μsec. At thecompletion 4726 of processor boot-up, the processor may transmit anover-ride signal 4728 to cause the hardware timing circuit 4740 to ceasefunctioning. Further, at the completion 4722 of processor boot-up, theprocessor may transmit 4730 configuration data to the multicolorvisualization device 4760. Once the processor has completed these tasks,the processor may then enter a standby state 4732. The processor in thestandby state 4732 may be ready to receive instructions from a user tobegin a required surgical procedure.

With regards to the hardware timing circuit 4740, once the electricalpower mains have been plugged in 4710 and the power switch activated4715, the timing circuit 4740 may initiate a timing procedure 4742. Insome additional aspects, the timing circuit 4740 may initiate a timingprocedure 4742 once the power mains have been plugged into 4710 thereceptacles without requiring activation 4715 of the power switch. Insome aspects, the timing procedure 4742 may initialize a digital counterand initiate a timing signal to update the digital counter.Alternatively, the timing procedure 4742 may apply a stable DC timingvoltage to an RC circuit, and the output of the RC circuit may becompared to a voltage threshold. If the timing circuit 4740 does notreceive the over-ride signal 4728, the timing procedure 4742 maycontinue until the timer—either analog or digital—attains 4744 apredetermined value. In some aspects, the predetermined value may berelated to a typical time required for the processor under test tocomplete the boot-up process (boot-up delay time 4724). If the counterattains 4744 the predetermined value, the hardware timing circuit 4740may transmit 4748 a fault signal to the multicolor visualization device4760.

In one example, the predetermined value may be empirically derived basedon measuring the boot-up delay time 4724. In one non-limiting example,the predetermined value may represent an average of a plurality ofmeasured boot-up delay times. In another non-limiting example, thepredetermined value may represent the maximum value of a plurality ofmeasured boot-up delay times. In still another non-limiting example, thepredetermined value may be an average of a plurality of measured boot-updelay times plus an additional arbitrary value (such as 50% of theaverage). Alternatively, an arbitrary value may be chosen for thepredetermined value as long as it is significantly greater than theexpected boot-up delay time 4724. Thus, as a non-limiting example, thepredetermined value for a processor having an expected boot-up delaytime of between about 10 μsec. and about 200 μsec. may range from around200 msec. to about 2 sec. In some non-limiting examples, thepredetermined value may be about 200 msec, about 400 msec, about 600msec, about 800 msec, about 1000 msec, (1 sec.), about 1200 msec, about1400 msec, about 1600 msec, about 1800 msec, about 2000 msec, (2 sec.),or any value or range of values therebetween including endpoints.

As disclosed above, the hardware timing circuit 4740 may continue thetiming procedure 4742 until the timer attains 4744 the predeterminedvalue. Alternatively, if the hardware timing circuit 4742 receives 4746the over-ride signal 4728 from the processor under test 4720 beforeattaining 4744 the predetermined value, the timing procedure 4742 maycease 4750 and the hardware timing circuit 4740 may stop 4752. In yetanother aspect, if the hardware timing circuit 4742 receives 4746 theover-ride signal 4728 from the processor under test 4720 beforeattaining 4744 the predetermined value, the timing procedure 4742 maycontinue although the hardware timing circuit 4740 may not transmit 4748the fault signal to the multicolor visualization device 4760. In aspectsin which the hardware timing circuit 4742 receives 4746 the over-ridesignal 4728 from the processor under test 4720 before attaining 4744 thepredetermined value, the hardware timing circuit 4740 will not transmit4748 the fault signal to the multicolor visualization device 4760.

Turning now to the multicolor visualization device 4760, the multicolorvisualization device may comprise any one or series of LED devices. Inone example, the multicolor visualization device may be a three-colorLED composed of a red LED 4766 a, a green LED 4766 b, and a blue LED4766 c. These LED's can be powered either individually or in groups togenerate a required notification color. In one example, all three LEDs4766 a,b,c may be activated to produce a white notification color. Inone example, a dim white notification color may indicate that themodular energy system has been initialized and is in a standby statewhile a bright which color may indicate that the modular energy systemis in a run-time state, thus ready for use. In another example, only thegreen LED 4766 b may be active. The green notification color mayindicate that the modular energy system or one of its functional modulesis presently active and in a run-time state, for example providing powerto a smart electrosurgical instrument. In yet another example, only thered LED 4766 a may be active. The red notification color may indicateany one of a number of fault conditions. In one example, the rednotification color may indicate that the processor under test 4720 hasfailed to complete its boot-up process, and that action is required.

Returning to the processor under test 4720, if the processorsuccessfully completes 4726 the boot-up procedure, the processor maytransmit 4730 configuration data to the multicolor visualization device4760. A general LED driver circuit may receive 4762 the configurationdata from the processor. The general LED driver circuit may thenactivate the LEDs 4766 a,b,c to display the appropriate color indicativeof the status of the modular energy device, such as a dim white color ora bright white color.

Alternatively, if the hardware timing circuit 4740 attains 4744 thepredetermined value, the timing circuit 4740 may transmit 4748 the faultsignal to the multicolor visualization device 4760. The fault signal maybe received 4764 by an LED driver over-ride circuit, which may activatethe red LED 4766 a regardless of the state of the general LED drivercircuit. In this manner, a red LED signal may be perceived by a user whowill understand that a boot-up fault has occurred to the processor undertest 4720.

Examples

Various aspects of the architecture for modular energy systems describedherein with reference to FIGS. 47-51 are set out in the followingnumbered examples.

Example 1. A modular energy system for use in a surgical environment,the system comprising a plurality of modules, wherein each of theplurality of modules comprises one of an initial module, a terminalmodule, and a functional module, in which each of the functional modulesand the terminal module comprises a module control circuit, and a localdata bus comprising a communication switch, a first switch data pathconfigured to permit data communication between the communication switchand the module control circuit, a second switch data path in datacommunication with the communication switch, and a third switch datapath in data communication with the communication switch, and in whichthe initial module comprises a physical layer transceiver (PHY) in datacommunication with an initial module control circuit, a termination unitin data communication with the third data path of the terminal module,and an internal data bus comprising a serial array of the local databusses of the plurality of functional modules and the terminal module,in which a third switch data path of a functional module N is in datacommunication with a second switch data path of a functional module N+1,in which a second switch data path of the terminal module is in datacommunication with a third switch data path of a preceding functionalmodule, and in which the internal data bus further comprises thephysical layer transceiver (PHY) of the initial module in datacommunication with a second switch data path of a succeeding functionalmodule.

Example 2. The modular energy system of Example 1, further comprising arouting system, wherein the routing system is in data communication withthe internal data bus, and is configured to permit data communicationbetween the internal data bus and a device or system separate from themodular energy system.

Example 3. The modular energy system of Example 2, wherein one of theplurality of modules comprises the routing system.

Example 4. The modular energy system of Example 3, wherein the one ofthe plurality of modules comprising the routing system, furthercomprises a header module or a communication module.

Example 5. The modular energy system of any one or more of Example 3through Example 4, wherein the routing system is detachably connected tothe one of the plurality of modules.

Example 6. The modular energy system of Example 5, wherein the one ofthe plurality of modules comprising the detachably connected routingsystem is configured to detect a presence of the detachably connectedrouting system.

Example 7. The modular energy system of any one or more of Example 2through Example 6, wherein the routing system comprises a routing systemprocessor and a routing system memory unit, wherein the routing systemmemory unit is configured to store instructions that, when executed bythe routing system processor, cause the processor to execute one or morecommunication security protocols.

Example 8. The module energy system of Example 7, wherein the one ormore communication security protocols comprise one or more of a MACaddress table filter, a packet filter based on an IP address, a softwareprotocol, or a port number, a stateful communication packet inspection,and an application layer firewall.

Example 9. The modular energy system of any one or more of Example 1through Example 8, wherein the plurality of modules comprises at leastthree modules.

Example 10. The modular energy system of Example 9, wherein, for amodule N, a data communication between a module N+1 and a module N−1 isrouted around the communication switch of the module N when thecommunication switch of module N is non-functioning.

Example 11. The modular energy system of Example 10, wherein the localdata bus of each of the plurality of modules further comprises amultiplexer comprising a first multiplex data path, a second multiplexdata path, a third multiplex data path, and a data path selection line,and in which a fourth switch data path for a functional module or aterminal module is configured to permit data communication between thecommunication switch and the first multiplex data path of themultiplexer.

Example 12. The modular energy system of Example 11, wherein the thirdmultiplex data path of the module N+1 is in data communication with thesecond multiplex data path of the module N−1.

Example 13. The modular energy system of Example 12, wherein the moduleN+1 is configured to form a communication exchange with the module N−1via the fourth switch data path of the communication switch of themodule N+1, the third multiplex data path of the data multiplexer of themodule N+1, the second multiplex data path of the data multiplexer ofthe module N−1, and the fourth switch data path of the communicationswitch of the module N−1, when the communication switch of the module Nis non-functional.

Example 14. The modular energy system of any one or more of Example 1through Example 13, wherein the internal data bus further comprises aplurality of address lines, an address fault line in electricalcommunication with a voltage source, and an analog/digital converter(ADC) configured to convert a value of an analog voltage of the addressfault line into a digital value, and in which each module N of theplurality of functional modules further comprises a local addressgenerator circuit, a local address parity circuit, and a predictiveaddress parity circuit for a functional module N+1.

Example 15. The modular energy system of Example 14, wherein thetermination unit comprises a local address parity circuit.

Example 16. The modular energy system of any one or more of Example 14through Example 15, wherein each module N of the plurality of functionalmodules comprises a parity comparison circuit configured to compare apredictive address parity value for a module N+1 and a local addressparity value of a module N+1.

Example 17. The modular energy system of Example 16, wherein, for eachmodule N of the plurality of modules, the module N causes the value ofthe analog voltage of the address fault line to change when thepredictive address parity value for module N+1 does not equal the localaddress parity value of module N+1.

Example 18. The modular energy system of Example 17, wherein the changein value of the analog voltage is indicative of an address fault inmodule N+1.

Example 19. A system for notifying a user of a processor boot-up faultin a computerized device, in which the computerized device comprises aprocessor and a memory unit configured to store a plurality ofinstructions for execution by the processor, the system comprising atiming circuit and a notification device, in which the processor isconfigured to initiate a boot-up process based on at least some of theinstructions stored in the memory unit when power is applied to thecomputerized device, in which the timing circuit is configured toinitiate a timing procedure when power is applied to the computerizeddevice, and in which the timing circuit is configured to transmit afault signal to the notification device when the timing circuit attainsa predetermined value.

Example 20. The system of Example 19, wherein the timing circuitcomprises a first timing circuit comprising a digital counter configuredto receive a timing signal, and a memory device configured to store thepredetermined value, in which the timing signal is initiated when poweris applied to the computerized device.

Example 21. The system of any one or more of Example 19 through Example20, wherein the time circuit comprises a second timing circuitcomprising an RC circuit, a comparator, and a circuit configured togenerate a voltage threshold, in which a timing voltage is applied tothe RC circuit when power is applied to the computerized device, and inwhich the voltage threshold comprises the predetermined value.

Example 22. The system of any one or more of Example 19 through Example21, wherein the processor, on completion of the boot-up process, isconfigured to transmit an over-ride signal to the timing circuit whenthe boot-up process completes, and in which the timing circuit isconfigured to cease the timing procedure upon receipt of the over-ridesignal from the processor.

Example 23. The system of any one or more of Example 19 through Example22, wherein the notification device comprises a multicolor visualizationdevice.

Example 24. The system of Example 23, wherein the processor, oncompletion of the boot-up process, further is configured to transmit aconfiguration signal to the multicolor visualization device.

Example 25. The system of any one or more of Example 23 through Example24, wherein the multicolor visualization device comprises a three-colorLED.

Example 26. The system of Example 25, wherein the three-color LED isconfigured to display a red color on receipt of the fault signal fromthe timing circuit.

Example 27. The system of any one or more of Example 25 through Example26, wherein the three-color LED is configured to display a dim whitecolor when the computerized device is in a standby mode, and a brightwhite color when the computerized device is in a run-time mode.

Modular Energy System with Hardware Mitigated Communication

Having described a general implementation of modular energy systems2000, 3000, and 6000, and various surgical instruments usable therewith,for example, surgical instruments 2204, 2206, and 2208, the disclosurenow turns to various aspects of modular energy systems comprising ahardware mitigated communication circuits and techniques. In otheraspects, these modular energy systems are substantially similar to themodular energy system 2000, the modular energy system 3000, and/or themodular energy system 6000 described hereinabove. For the sake ofbrevity, various details of other modular energy systems described inthe following sections, which are similar to the modular energy system2000, the modular energy system 3000, and/or the modular energy system6000, are not repeated herein. Any aspect of the other modular energysystems described below can be brought into the modular energy system2000, the modular energy system 3000, or the modular energy system 6000.

Hardware Mitigated Communication in a Modular System

As described hereinbelow with reference to FIG. 52, in various aspects,the present disclosure provides modular energy systems 2000, 3000, 6000comprising hardware mitigated communication circuits and techniques. Asdisclosed above, with respect to FIG. 1-3, a surgical hub 106 can beembodied as a modular energy system 2000, as is illustrated inconnection with FIGS. 6-12. The modular energy system 2000 can include avariety of different modules 2001 that are connectable together in astacked configuration. In one aspect, the modules 2001 can be bothphysically and communicably coupled together when stacked or otherwiseconnected together into a singular assembly. Further, the modules 2001can be interchangeably connectable together in different combinations orarrangements. In one aspect, each of the modules 2001 can include aconsistent or universal array of connectors disposed along their upperand lower surfaces, thereby allowing any module 2001 to be connected toanother module 2001 in any arrangement. Other aspects of hardwaremitigated communication techniques also are applicable to other modularenergy systems 3000, 6000 described herein.

As illustrated in FIG. 13, an example of a stand-alone modular energysystem 3000 includes an integrated header module/user interface (UI)module 3002 coupled to an energy module 3004. Power and data aretransmitted between the integrated header/UI module 3002 and the energymodule 3004 through a power interface 3006 and a data interface 3008.For example, the integrated header/UI module 3002 can transmit variouscommands to the energy module 3004 through the data interface 3008. Suchcommands can be based on user inputs from the UI. As illustrated in FIG.15, each module in the modular energy system may include a first passthrough hub connector 3074 and a second pass-through hub connector 3038.Each module may include a local data bus configured to direct datacommunications among the various components of the module. Further, thelocal data bus of each module may extend between the first pass throughhub connector and the second pass-through hub connector. Once themodules that comprise the modular energy system are stacked together,interconnected by their respective first and second pass-through hubconnectors, the interconnected local data busses together may form aninternal data bus. Data may be received and transmitted through theinternal data bus and are distributed among all of the modules via theirrespective local data busses.

Based on the description of the physical and data connectivity of themodules, as disclosed above, it can be understood that the entireinternal data bus is composed of multiple mechanically linked local databusses of the various modules. One having experience in the use of dataconnector technology can well appreciate that each mechanical link (thepass-through hub connectors) may represent a point of communicationfailure or corruption. The individual pins of one pass-through hubconnector may not securely mate with the corresponding receptacle of asecond pass-through hub connector. The surfaces of the pins and/orreceptacles may develop tarnish or corrosion over time, thereby forminga high resistive electrical block between pin and receptacle. Pins maybend or break on multiple couplings and de-couplings. In addition tocommunication faults due to mechanical issues at the connector sites,sources of communication loss or corruption may also be due to messagecollisions, network congestion, or data errors. In some cases, atransmitter may have a fault causing it not to transmit an intended datapacket. Therefore, it is clear that methods and components may berequired to assure that communications between modules are maintained,or at least determine if some data communication becomes lost orcorrupted.

FIG. 52 depicts a block diagram 4800 of a communication transfer processbetween a transmitting module 4805 and a receiving module 4810. Thecommunication transfer process depicted in FIG. 52 may apply to anysuitable serial communication transfer protocol, especially a protocolthat may transmit a data message as one or more data packets. While theprocess depicted in the block diagram 4800 may apply to any suitablecommunication protocol, its use may be considered in terms of anEthernet protocol, as one non-limiting example.

For the transmitting module 4805, the data message may be suitablyincorporated into one or more data packets 4825 in the transmittersoftware application communication layer 4820. The data message may betransmitted over the transmission medium 4815 to be received by thereceiving module 4810, for example at the receiver software applicationcommunication layer 4830. The transmission medium 4815 may include anywired or wireless medium. The transmission medium 4815 may becomeunreliable 4817 due to any number of factors. Some sources of datamessage loss or corruption have already been discussed with respect tothe internal data bus of the modular energy system, as disclosed above.If the transmission medium 4815 is a wireless medium, the source ofunreliability 4817 may be due to atmospheric conditions, structuralinterference, frequency clashes, and similar effects known to compromisethe integrity of a wireless transmission.

Without loss of generality, one may consider communication between twofunctional modules of the modular energy device. Each module may includea module control circuit which may be configured to execute computerinstructions related to the particular functions of that module. Themodule control circuit may also execute the require instructionsnecessary to transmit or receive communications to or from otherfunctional modules. Each functional module may include a local data buswhich may include a communication switch in data communication with thecontrol circuit. As disclosed above, when the modular energy system isassembled, the local data busses of the modules may be seriallyconnected to form the internal data bus of the modular energy system.The internal data bus may form the communication medium 4815 over whichthe communication data packets 4825 may transfer between individualfunctional modules.

In order to determine if a data message has become lost or delayed, thetransmitting module 4805 may include a transmitter transceiver timer4807. The transmitter transceiver timer 4807 may include any type ofhardware timer, including a real-time clock or a free-running counter.The transmitter software application communication layer 4820 may read atransmission time or count value from the transmitter transceiver timer4807 and append those data 4809 into one or more data structures withinthe communication data packets 4825 comprising the data message beingtransmitted over the communication medium 4815.

The communication data packets 4825 transmitted by the transmittingmodule 4805 over the transmission medium 4815 may be received by thereceiving module 4810. In particular, the receiver software applicationcommunication layer 4830 may receive the data message and unpack thedata structure therein. The receiver software application communicationlayer 4830 may also extract the transmission time from the datastructure. The receiver software application communication layer 4830may also obtain a receipt time marking the time the data message wasreceived. The receipt time may be obtained from a receiver transceivertimer 4837. The receiver transceiver timer 4837 may also include anytype of hardware timer, including a real-time clock or a free-runningcounter. The receiver software application communication layer 4830 mayuse the receipt time to time stamp the receipt of the data message.

The receiver transceiver timer 4837 and the transmitter transceivertimer 4807 may be similar types of devices or different types ofdevices. In one aspect, the receiver transceiver timer 4837 and thetransmitter transceiver timer 4807 may be the same device. In aspects inwhich the receiver transceiver timer 4837 and the transmittertransceiver timer 4807 are different devices, the two timers (4807 and4837) may be synchronized. In one aspect, a transmitter module 4805 maysend a synchronization message for example using the Precision TimeProtocol (PTP or IEEE-1588 standard) to the receiver module 4810. Thereceiving module 4810 may then adjust the receiver transceiver timer4837 to have a time as indicated by the header value. In alternativeaspects, both the receiver transceiver timer 4837 and the transmittertransceiver timer 4807 may be synchronized to an independent timereference, such as a GPS or WWVB time source.

It may be understood that the process depicted in the block diagram 4800may repeat with each transmission from the transmitting module 4805.That is, before a data message is transmitted over the medium 4815, atransmission time may be obtained from the transmitter transceiver timer4807 and appended 4809 to the data message. On receipt of the datamessage, the receiving module 4810 may obtain a receipt time from thereceiver transceiver timer 4837 and unpack the transmission time fromthe data message. The receiving module 4810 may make a number ofcomparisons of the times associated with sequentially received datamessages. In one example, the receiving module 4810 may compare thetransmission times of sequentially received data messages. In anotherexample, the receiving module 4810 may compare a transmission time of adata message to its receipt time. In yet another example, the receivingmodule 4810 may compare receipt times of sequentially received datamessages. Depending on the time comparisons made, the receiving module4810 may respond in any appropriate manner.

It may be understood that, in general, the transmission times ofsequentially transmitted data messages should have increasing values. Ifthe data messages sequentially received by the receiving module 4810have increasing transmission times, the receiving module 4810 maydetermine that the sequentially received data messages were sequentiallytransmit from the transmitting module 4805. However, if the transmissiontimes of sequentially received data messages have the same transmissiontime or decreasing values of the transmission time, then the receivingmodule 4810 may determine that a transmission error has occurred. Forexample, if a first received message has the same transmission time as asecond and later received message, then the receiving module 4810 maydetermine that the same message had been sent twice by the transmittingmodule 4805. If the first received message has a transmission time thatis less than a transmission time of a second and later received message,there may be an indication of a message clash over the transmissionmedium 4815. For either of these two error conditions, the receivingmodule 4810 may shut down to a safe standby state. In addition, thereceiving module 4810 may transmit an error message over thetransmission medium 4815.

It may generally be understood that multiple data transmissions mayoccur while the modular energy system is in use. Even when the modularenergy system is in a quiescent state, various modules may communicatewith each other, for example to obtain status information. Thus, eachreceiving module 4810 may expect to receive multiple data messages froma given transmitting module 4805. As noted above, upon receipt of a datamessage, the receiving module 4810 may obtain a receipt time as a timestamp for the data message. The receiving module 4810 may obtain areceipt time from the receiver transceiver timer 4837 for eachsequentially received data message. In some aspects, sequential datatransmissions from a transmitting module 4805 may be spaced apart by atransmission interval (defined as a difference in the transmission timesbetween sequential data messages). The receiving module 4810 maytherefore expect a transmission interval time between receipt timesassociated with successive data messages. If the transmission intervalbetween successively received data messages is greater than apredetermined value, the receiving module 4810 may determine that atransmission fault has occurred, such as a dropped packet or datamessage. The predetermined value may be based on an expectedtransmission interval. For example, a transmission interval may be about10 ms. and thus the predetermined value may be set to this value.Alternatively, the predetermined value may represent an averagetransmission interval calculated from the transmission intervalsmeasured between a number of data message receipt times. Alternatively,the predetermined value may represent a maximum value of transmissionintervals among a number of data message receipt times. As anotheralternative, the predetermined value may represent an averagetransmission value increased by some fixed amount (for example 50%). Inthe event that the receiving module 4810 determines that a difference inreceipt times between two successively received data messages is greaterthan the predetermined value, the receiving module 4810 may recognizethe existence of an error condition. In the case of this errorcondition, the receiving module 4810 may shut down to a safe standbystate. In addition, the receiving module 4810 may transmit an errormessage over the transmission medium 4815.

As disclosed above, the receiver transceiver timer 4837 and thetransmitter transceiver timer 4807 may be synchronized. If thetransmission of a communication data packet 4825 between thetransmitting module 4805 and the receiving module 4810 is unimpeded, thedifference between the transmission time and the receipt time should befairly small. However, if the transmission medium 4815 is composed of aninternal data bus of a modular energy system having multiple seriallyconnected local data busses, the communication data packet 4825 will berelayed between the communication switches of successive energy systemmodules. It may be understood that a delay in the retransmission of thecommunication data packet 4825 between successive communication switchesmay occur due to data clashes, communication switch retransmissionlatency, error in communication data packet 4825 receipt, or otherreasons. In such a case, the final receipt time of the communicationdata packet 4825 may be greater than a predetermined value. If thedifference between a transmission time and a receipt time for a givencommunication data packet is greater than a predetermined value, thereceiving module 4810 may determine that a transmission fault hasoccurred, such as a dropped or delayed packet, or that the data messageis outdated and superseded by a more recent data message. Thepredetermined value may be based on an expected transit time between thetransmitting module 4805 and the receiving module 4810. For example, atransit time may be on the order of 10's of μs and thus thepredetermined value may be set to this value. Alternatively, thepredetermined value may represent an average transit time calculatedfrom the transit times measured between a number of data messagetransmission/receipt times. Alternatively, the predetermined value mayrepresent a maximum value of transit times among a number of datamessage transmit/receipt times. As another alternative, thepredetermined value may represent an average transit time increased bysome fixed amount (for example 50%). In the event that the receivingmodule 4810 determines that a difference between the transmission timeand the receipt time of a communication data packet 4825 is greater thanthe predetermined value, the receiving module 4810 may recognize theexistence of an error condition. In the case of this error condition,the receiving module 4810 may shut down to a safe standby state. Inaddition, the receiving module 4810 may transmit an error message overthe transmission medium 4815.

As disclosed above, the receiving module 4810, on detecting atransmission error associated with one or more data messages, may shutdown to a safe standby state and transmit an error message over thetransmission medium 4815. In some aspects, the transmitting module 4805,on receiving the error message, may address the error. In one aspect, onreceiving the error message, the transmitting module 4805 may retransmitthe previously sent data message.

As disclosed above, the modular energy system may be incorporated into alarger smart surgical system. Such a larger surgical system may includesubsystems including, without limitation, one or more of a centralsurgical hub, a visualization system, a robotic surgical system, a smokeevacuation system, an irrigation system, an imaging system, and one ormore patient status sensors. All of these subsystems may beinterconnected by a surgical system bus. The surgical system bus mayconstitute any type of communication network allowing the varioussubsystems to exchange data with each other. The modular energy systeminternal bus, as previously disclosed above, may also be in datacommunication with the surgical subsystems and particularly the surgicalsystem bus. Thus, a system data bus may include both the modular energysystem internal bus and the surgical system bus.

It may be understood that data communication among the subsystems of thesmart surgical system (including the modular energy system and itsmodules), may also be prone to similar message transmission errors asdisclosed above in the context of communications among the variousmodules that compose the modular energy system. It may be recognizedthat the general process depicted in FIG. 52 and disclosed above for themodular energy system, may equally be applied to the larger smartsurgical system.

In view of the disclosure above, it may be understood that any or all ofthe components of the smart surgical system—the surgical subsystems andthe modules of the modular energy system—may incorporate a transceivertimer. All of the transceiver timers may be used as either a receivertransceiver timer or a transmitter transceiver timer depending onwhether the module or subsystem acts as either a transmitting componentor a receiving component. All of the transceiver timers may besynchronized according to any of the methods disclosed above. It may beunderstood that the transmitting component may not be the same componentas the receiving component. Message data may be transmitted over theentirety of the system data bus (incorporating both the surgical systembus and the internal data bus of the modular energy system).

In keeping with the disclosure above and FIG. 52, a transmittingcomponent may obtain a transmission time from its associated(transmitter) transceiver timer, and append the transmission time to thedata message. The data message may be transmitted over the system databus. The receiving component may receive the data message, extract thetransmission time, and obtain a receipt time from its associate(receiver) transceiver timer. The transmitting component may obtain anew transmission time and append it to each subsequent data messagebeing sent. The receiving component may receive each data message,extract the new transmission time from each data message, and obtain areceipt time for each data message.

In one aspect, the receiving component may compare the transmissiontimes of sequentially received data messages. In one aspect, thereceiving component may compare the receipt times of sequentiallyreceived data messages. If the receiving component determines that thetransmission times of sequentially received data messages do notincrease, but either have the same value or decreasing values, thereceiving component may enter a safe shut-down mode and transmit anerror message over the system data bus. If the receiving componentdetermines that the difference between the receipt times of twosequentially received data messages is greater than a predeterminedvalue, the receiving component may enter a safe shut-down mode andtransmit an error message over the system data bus. In one aspect, thetransmitting component, upon receipt of the error message may retransmitone or more of the previously transmitted data messages.

While the operation of the messaging error system has been summarizedabove with respect to the smart surgical system, it may be understoodthat various detailed aspects disclosed above with respect to theoperation of such a system in the modular energy system may still obtainwith respect to the larger system.

Examples

Various aspects of the modular energy systems comprising hardwaremitigated communication circuits and techniques described herein withreference to FIG. 52 are set out in the following numbered examples:

Example 1. A modular energy system for use in a surgical environment,the system including a plurality of functional modules, wherein at leasttwo of the plurality of functional modules is composed of a modulecontrol circuit, a local data bus having a communication switch in datacommunication with the control circuit, and a transceiver timer, and aninternal data bus including a serial array of the local data busses ofthe plurality of functional modules in mutual data communication, inwhich a first functional module of the plurality of functional modulesis configured to transmit a data message over the internal data bus to asecond functional module of the plurality of functional modules, inwhich the first functional module is configured to obtain a transmissiontime from a transceiver timer of the first functional module, append thetransmission time to the data message, and transmit the data messageover the internal data bus to the second functional module, and in whichthe second functional module is configured to receive the data messageover the internal data bus from the first functional module, obtain areceipt time from a transceiver timer of the second functional module,and obtain the transmission time from the data message.

Example 2. The modular energy system of Example 1, wherein the secondfunctional module is configured to compare a value of the receipt timeto a value of the transmission time.

Example 3. The modular energy system of Example 2, wherein the secondfunctional module, upon determining that a difference between the valueof the receipt time and the value of the transmission time is greaterthan a predetermined value, is configured to enter into a safe shut-downmode, and transmit an error message over the internal data bus.

Example 4. The modular energy system of Example 1, in which the firstfunctional module is further configured to obtain a second transmissiontime from the transceiver timer of the first functional module, appendthe second transmission time to a second data message, and transmit thesecond data message over the internal data bus to the second functionalmodule, and in which the second functional module is configured toreceive the second data message over the internal data bus from thefirst functional module, obtain a second receipt time from thetransceiver timer of the second functional module, and obtain the secondtransmission time from the second data message.

Example 5. The modular energy system of Example 4, in which the secondfunctional module is configured to compare a value of the secondtransmission time to a value of the transmission time.

Example 6. The module energy system of Example 5, in which the secondfunctional module, upon determining that the second transmission time isequal to or less than the transmission time, is configured to enter intoa safe shut-down mode and transmit an error message over the internaldata bus.

Example 7. The modular energy system of any one or more of Examples 4through 6, in which the second functional module is configured tocompare a value of the second receipt time to a value of the receipttime.

Example 8. The modular energy system of Example 7, in which the secondfunctional module, upon determining that a difference between a value ofthe second receipt time and a value of the receipt time is greater thana predetermined transmission interval, is configured to enter into asafe shut-down mode, and transmit an error message over the internaldata bus.

Example 9. The modular energy system of any one or more of Examples 1through 8, in which the first functional module is configured totransmit over the internal data bus a timer synchronization messagebased on a time of the first functional module transceiver timer, and inwhich the second functional module, upon receiving the timersynchronization message, is configured to synchronize the time of thesecond functional module transceiver timer to a value contained in thetimer synchronization message.

Example 10. The modular energy system of any one or more of Examples 1through 9, in which the first functional module, on receiving an errormessage over the internal data bus from the second functional module, isconfigured to resend a previous data message.

Example 11. A smart surgical system composed of a plurality of surgicalsubsystems in mutual data communication over a surgical system bus, inwhich at least one of the plurality of surgical subsystems comprises asubsystem transceiver timer, and a modular energy system including aplurality of functional modules, in which at least one of the pluralityof functional modules has a module control circuit, a local data buscomprising a communication switch in data communication with the controlcircuit, and a transceiver timer, and an internal data bus comprising aserial array of the local data busses of the plurality of functionalmodules in mutual data communication, in which a system data buscomprises the internal data bus of the modular energy system in datacommunication with the surgical system bus, in which a transmittingcomponent comprises one of the plurality of surgical subsystems or oneof the plurality of functional modules, in which a receiving componentcomprises one of the plurality of surgical subsystems or one of theplurality of functional modules and is not the transmitting component,in which the transmitting component is configured to transmit a datamessage over the system data bus to the receiving component, in whichthe transmitting component is configured to obtain a transmission timefrom a transceiver timer of the transmitting component, append thetransmission time to the data message, and transmit the data messageover the system bus to the receiving component; and in which thereceiving component is configured to receive the data message over thesystem data bus from the transmitting component, obtain a receipt timefrom a transceiver timer of the receiving component, and obtain thetransmission time from the data message.

Example 12. The smart surgical system of Example 11, in which theplurality of surgical subsystems includes one or more of a centralsurgical hub, a visualization system, a robotic surgical system, a smokeevacuation system, an irrigation system, an imaging system, and one ormore patient status sensors.

Example 13. The smart surgical system of any one or more of Examples 11through 12, wherein the receiving component is configured to compare avalue of the receipt time to a value of the transmission time.

Example 14. The smart surgical system of claim 13, wherein the receivingcomponent, upon determining that a difference between the value of thereceipt time and the value of the transmission time is greater than apredetermined value, is configured to enter into a safe shut-down mode,and transmit an error message over the system data bus.

Example 15. The smart surgical system of any one or more of Examples 11through 14, in which the transmitting component is further configured toobtain a second transmission time from the transceiver timer of thetransmitting component, append the second transmission time to a seconddata message, and transmit the second data message over the system databus to the receiving component, and in which the receiving component isconfigured to receive the second data message over the system data busfrom the transmitting component, obtain a second receipt time from thetransceiver timer of the receiving component, and obtain the secondtransmission time from the second data message.

Example 16. The smart surgical system of Example 15, in which thereceiving component is configured to compare a value of the secondtransmission time to a value of the transmission time.

Example 17. The smart surgical system of Example 16, in which thereceiving component, upon determining that the second transmission timeis equal to or less than the transmission time, is configured to enterinto a safe shut-down mode and transmit an error message over the systemdata bus.

Example 18. The smart surgical system of any one or more of Examples 15through 17, in which the receiving component is configured to compare avalue of the second receipt time to a value of the receipt time.

Example 19. The smart surgical system of Example 18, in which thereceiving component, upon determining that a difference between a valueof the second receipt time and a value of the receipt time is greaterthan a predetermined transmission interval, is configured to enter intoa safe shut-down mode and transmit an error message over the system databus.

Example 20. The smart surgical system of any one or more of Examples 11through 19, in which the transmitting component is configured totransmit over the system data bus a timer synchronization message basedon a time of the transmitting component transceiver timer, and in whichthe receiving component, upon receiving the timer synchronizationmessage, is configured to synchronize the time of the receivingcomponent transceiver timer to a value contained in the timersynchronization message.

Example 21. The smart surgical system of any one or more of Examples 11through 20, in which the transmitting component, on receiving an errormessage over the system data bus from the receiving component, isconfigured to resend a previous data message.

Inductive Charging

Having described a general implementation of modular energy systems2000, 3000, 6000, and various surgical instruments usable therewith, forexample, surgical instruments 2204, 2206, and 2208, the disclosure nowturns to various aspects of modular energy systems 2000, 3000, 6000comprising inductive charging circuits and techniques. In other aspects,these modular energy systems are substantially similar to the modularenergy system 2000, the modular energy system 3000, and/or the modularenergy system 6000 described hereinabove. For the sake of brevity,various details of other modular energy systems described in thefollowing sections, which are similar to the modular energy system 2000,the modular energy system 3000, and/or the modular energy system 6000,are not repeated herein. Any aspect of the other modular energy systemsdescribed below can be brought into the modular energy system 2000, themodular energy system 3000, or the modular energy system 6000.

Inductive Charging

As described hereinbelow with reference to FIGS. 53-55, in variousaspects, the present disclosure provides modular energy systems 2000,3000, 6000 comprising an inductive charger built into the header moduleto wireless charge devices placed above the header module. In anotheraspect, a wireless charging station module can be connected to themodular energy system 2000, 3000, 6000 to wirelessly charge devicesconnected to the wireless charging station module.

In various general aspects, cable management in the OR can be asignificant challenge because of the multitude of connections from eachpiece of equipment back to the wall. In some aspects, additional cablesmay be made from these instruments to the surgical devices which go tothe patient. For example, due to the vast number of these surgicaldevices there can be a large web of cables emanating from the patientand going outward (or upward) to the wall or tower connections.

In some aspects, using surgical devices that get power from a batterycan help eliminate some of the cables in the operating room; however,then the battery needs charged. In one aspect, to accommodate chargingthe battery without a cable an inductive charging system can be added tothe header module of the Modular Energy platform. In one aspect, addingan inductive charging system involves adding a charging coil to the topsurface of the header but beneath the enclosure so it is not accessibleto modification or liquids. In various aspects, the enclosure is metal,however this could interfere with the magnetic fields and cause internalheating of the enclosure, thus it is recommended to change out at leasta portion of the enclosure above the charging system to a non-metallicmaterial, for example plastic. The coil may be located by a foam likematerial called EPAC and connected back to the main printed circuitboard assembly (PCBA) via internal cables. In various aspects, a matingcoil would have to be provided on the device to be charged by theinductive charging system.

An inductive charging system can be used for a variety of items. Onesuch example is to provide power to a wireless module. This module mayneed to be mobile so wires would ruin its experience. In various generalaspects, the addition of an inductive charging system allows analternative expansion route on the Mantle system. For example,previously the expansion was only allowed below the header, but with theaddition of an inductive charging wireless module expansion can go abovethe header as well. Communication to the inductive charging wirelessmodule can be done via bluetooth/ethernet/etc. instead of the backplane.Additionally, in one aspect, accessories such as a wireless foot switchcould also be charged on the top of the unit in-between usage. Invarious aspects, an additional item that could be charged is speakers orcellphones especially for those surgeons who play music in the operatingroom (OR). Typically those devices are dangled close to an outlet inoften not ideal locations such as on the floor or on a window sill. Inone general aspect, anything that can run off a battery could run of thecharging station.

In one aspect, FIGS. 53-55 illustrate the addition of an inductivecharging system into a header module 4002 of a modular energy system4000. Referring to FIG. 53, the header module 4002 may have a piece ofthe top enclosure 4004 replaced with a non-metallic section 4006. Forexample, the non-metallic section 4006 could be made of plastic. Underthe non-metallic section 4006 the inductive coil may reside. Theinductive coil could generate an oscillating magnetic field above thenon-metallic section 4006 and a device with a receiver coil would beplaced over top of the non-metallic section 4006 to charge the batteryof the device. The header module 4002 may have a power cable 4014 thatwould go to an electrical outlet to provide power to the modular energysystem 4000. A generator module 4008 may be placed under the headermodule 4002. The generator module 4008 may have a variety of ports 4010for providing power to different devices. The header module 4004 maycomprise a screen 4012. In certain aspects, the display screen 4012 canbe removable from the header module 4002. In other aspects, the displayscreen 4012 can be built into the header module 4002.

FIG. 54 is a diagram of how an inductive coil 4016 can generate anoscillating magnetic field 4020 that may be received by a receiver coil4022. Electrical current may be run through the inductive coil 4016 inthe direction 4018 to generate the oscillating magnetic field 4020. Thereceiver coil 4022 may be placed within the oscillating magnetic fieldto generate electrical current in the receiver coil 4022. The electricalcurrent generated in the receiver coil 4022 can be used to charge abattery in a device. Thus, a device may have a battery charged withoutany wires directly connecting the device to the charging system.

Referring to FIG. 55, some of the internal components of the headermodule 4002 are shown. The top enclosure 4004 may be attached to thebottom enclosure 40034 and the front bezel 4032. In one aspect, the topenclosure may be made of metal, the bottom enclosure may be made ofmetal, and the front bezel may be made of plastic. In various aspects,there may be a hole 4038 in the top enclosure. The edge of the hole 4038can define a protrusion 4040 in the top enclosure 4004 that may matewith a protrusion 4042 of the nonmetallic section 4006. For example, theprotrusion of the protrusion 4042 of the nonmetallic section 4006 mayrest on top of the protrusion 4040 coming out off of the top enclosure4004. The top of the nonmetallic section 4006 may rest even with the topof the enclosure 4004, when it is placed to cover the hole 4038.Directly beneath the hole 4038 the inductive coil 4028 may rest on topof the EPAC 4024. In one aspect, the EPAC can locate the placement ofthe inductive coil 4028 such that it is held in place and does not movefrom below the nonmetallic section 4006. The inductive coil 4028 canhave a cable 4026 that electrically connects the inductive coil 4006with the printed circuit board 4036. The printed circuit board maycontrol the current that goes to the inductive coil 4028 such that theinductive coil 4028 can generate an oscillating magnetic field 4020. Adevice with a receiver coil can be placed on top of the header module4002 such that a receiver coil in the device is placed above thenonmetallic section 4006. The receiver coil may then be within theoscillating magnetic field 4020, which may generate a current in thereceiver coil that could be used to charge a battery in the device. Theabove described aspect is one example of a wireless charging system.Other aspects are envisioned that could be implemented by usingdifferent standard wireless charging techniques.

Wireless Charging of Handles and Accessories

As described hereinbelow with reference to FIG. 56, in various aspects,the present disclosure provides modular energy systems 2000, 3000, 6000comprising wireless charging of handles and accessories. In anotheraspect, a wireless charging station module can be connected to themodular energy system 2000, 3000, 6000 to wirelessly charge devicesconnected to the wireless charging station module. Many currentinstruments/accessories used in the medical field today are chargedprior to cleaning and sterilization. This process may pose a risk thatthe instrument/accessory may not be fully charged once it reaches thesterile field for surgery. The current process for rechargeablehandles/batteries typically requires charging to be done by the cleaningand sterilization department prior to sterilization being completed.This workflow does not allow the OR staff to confirm that a battery isfully charged prior to starting the procedure. If the battery is notsufficiently, then charged the battery has to go back through thecleaning and sterilization process before it can be used again. Thesurgery can continue only if another battery is available. Anotherpotential problem with this design is that batteries can lose chargewhile sitting on a shelf. The steps for the current reusable technologymay be handle used in surgery, handle cleaned, handle charged, handleplaced in pouch, handle sterilized, and then the handle is placed on ashelf without the battery status being displayed.

In various aspects, a wireless charging station could be used to allowinstruments/accessories to be charged after cleaning and sterilization.This system would allow nurses/surgeons to see the status of a batterycharge prior to selecting it for surgery. A reusable handle/batterycould be wirelessly charged through an inductive coil. An inductivecharging pad could be used that would be capable of wirelessly charginga battery through known sterilization wrapping, such as a peel pouch,autoclave wrapping, etc. The charging station could have multipleinductive charging pads. The charging station could display the statusof all handles/batteries connected to the system. The charging stationcan support multiple configurations (wireless FSW, Instrument Handles,or Accessories). The wireless charging system could be placed on themodular energy system cart, somewhere else in OR, or possibly in thecentral processing department (where sterilization takes place). Thewireless charging system could wirelessly communicates status to themodular energy system. The proposed reusable handle/battery steps with awireless charging system would be handle used in surgery, handlecleaned, handle placed in pouch, handle sterilized, handle sterilized,and then handle placed on charger in sterile pouch with the batterystatus displayed.

Wireless charging allows customers to charge an instrument/accessoryafter sterilization has taken place and reduce the chances of apartially charged instrument being used in surgery. Some of the keyadvantages of a wireless charging system are to see the status of thehandle before opening up sterile pouch. For example, a light couldindicate available battery life in a “Sterile” state. Batteries cancontinue to charge while “on the shelf”. Normally batteries that arecharged prior to sterilization could drain while sitting on a shelf. Thedevice handle would not need to be charged prior tocleaning/sterilization. A battery could be wirelessly charged during anoperation through aseptic transfer (in sterile wrapping) to be used on apatient. The cleaning/sterilization department would not need to managecharging of reusable instruments. The charging station could wirelesslycommunicates status of connected devices to the modular energy system.Modular energy system could then recommend which handle to connect anduse based on battery percent, usage history, reliability estimates, andetc.

In one aspect, FIG. 56 illustrates a wireless charging station module4058 as part of a modular energy system 4050. The modular energy system4050 may comprise a header module 4052, a generator module 4054, and awireless charging station module 4058. In certain aspects, the modularenergy system 4050 may be placed on a modular energy system cart 4056.In various other aspects, the wireless charging station module 4058could be placed anywhere in the OR room. The wireless charging stationmodule 4058 may have a dedicated power cord or it may be connected tothe modular energy system 4050 for power. The wireless charging stationmodule 4058 may have charge indicators 4078, 4080 on the side 4058 ofthe wireless charging station module 4058. A multitude of devices may becharged by the wireless charging station module 4058. The wirelesscharging station module 4058 has two charging locations 4086, 4084 onthe top of the wireless charging station module 4058. For example, adevice handle 4076 is placed on charging location 4086 and a wirelessfoot switch 4074 is placed on charging location 4084. In alternativeaspects, there can be more or less charging locations on top of thewireless charging station module 4058. The charge indicators 4078, 4080can indicate the percentage of charge for a device on the chargelocation. The charge indicator 4078 indicates the percentage that thedevice on charge location 4086 is charged and the charge indicator 4080indicates the percentage that the device on charge location 4084 ischarged. For example, the charge indicator 4078 indicates that thehandle 4076 has a 50 percent charge, and the charge indicator 4080indicates that the wireless foot switch 4074 is fully charged.

Still referring to FIG. 56, the wireless charging station module 4058can be in wireless communication 4060 with the header module 4052. Forexample, the wireless charging station module 4058 can connect with theheader module 4052 via wifi or Bluetooth technology. The header module4062 comprises a display screen 4062 that shows the display 4064. Thedisplay 4064 contains information for the different modules of themodular energy system 4050. For example, the display 4064 illustratesmodular energy system information 4088 for the modular energy system4040, generator module information 4066 for the generator module 4054,and wireless charging station module information 4068 for the wirelesscharging station module 4058. In some aspects, the wireless chargingstation module information 4068 contains the percentage that a deviceconnected to the wireless charging station module 4058 is charged. Forexample, the charge percent indicator 4070 displays the same informationas the charge indicator 4078 and the charge indicator 4072 displays thesame information as the charge indicator 4080.

While several forms have been illustrated and described, it is not theintention of Applicant to restrict or limit the scope of the appendedclaims to such detail. Numerous modifications, variations, changes,substitutions, combinations, and equivalents to those forms may beimplemented and will occur to those skilled in the art without departingfrom the scope of the present disclosure. Moreover, the structure ofeach element associated with the described forms can be alternativelydescribed as a means for providing the function performed by theelement. Also, where materials are disclosed for certain components,other materials may be used. It is therefore to be understood that theforegoing description and the appended claims are intended to cover allsuch modifications, combinations, and variations as falling within thescope of the disclosed forms. The appended claims are intended to coverall such modifications, variations, changes, substitutions,modifications, and equivalents.

The foregoing detailed description has set forth various forms of thedevices and/or processes via the use of block diagrams, flowcharts,and/or examples. Insofar as such block diagrams, flowcharts, and/orexamples contain one or more functions and/or operations, it will beunderstood by those within the art that each function and/or operationwithin such block diagrams, flowcharts, and/or examples can beimplemented, individually and/or collectively, by a wide range ofhardware, software, firmware, or virtually any combination thereof.Those skilled in the art will recognize that some aspects of the formsdisclosed herein, in whole or in part, can be equivalently implementedin integrated circuits, as one or more computer programs running on oneor more computers (e.g., as one or more programs running on one or morecomputer systems), as one or more programs running on one or moreprocessors (e.g., as one or more programs running on one or moremicroprocessors), as firmware, or as virtually any combination thereof,and that designing the circuitry and/or writing the code for thesoftware and or firmware would be well within the skill of one of skillin the art in light of this disclosure. In addition, those skilled inthe art will appreciate that the mechanisms of the subject matterdescribed herein are capable of being distributed as one or more programproducts in a variety of forms, and that an illustrative form of thesubject matter described herein applies regardless of the particulartype of signal bearing medium used to actually carry out thedistribution.

Instructions used to program logic to perform various disclosed aspectscan be stored within a memory in the system, such as dynamic randomaccess memory (DRAM), cache, flash memory, or other storage.Furthermore, the instructions can be distributed via a network or by wayof other computer readable media. Thus a machine-readable medium mayinclude any mechanism for storing or transmitting information in a formreadable by a machine (e.g., a computer), but is not limited to, floppydiskettes, optical disks, compact disc, read-only memory (CD-ROMs), andmagneto-optical disks, read-only memory (ROMs), random access memory(RAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electricallyerasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic or opticalcards, flash memory, or a tangible, machine-readable storage used in thetransmission of information over the Internet via electrical, optical,acoustical or other forms of propagated signals (e.g., carrier waves,infrared signals, digital signals, etc.). Accordingly, thenon-transitory computer-readable medium includes any type of tangiblemachine-readable medium suitable for storing or transmitting electronicinstructions or information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., acomputer).

As used in any aspect herein, the term “control circuit” may refer to,for example, hardwired circuitry, programmable circuitry (e.g., acomputer processor including one or more individual instructionprocessing cores, processing unit, processor, microcontroller,microcontroller unit, controller, digital signal processor (DSP),programmable logic device (PLD), programmable logic array (PLA), orfield programmable gate array (FPGA)), state machine circuitry, firmwarethat stores instructions executed by programmable circuitry, and anycombination thereof. The control circuit may, collectively orindividually, be embodied as circuitry that forms part of a largersystem, for example, an integrated circuit (IC), an application-specificintegrated circuit (ASIC), a system on-chip (SoC), desktop computers,laptop computers, tablet computers, servers, smart phones, etc.Accordingly, as used herein “control circuit” includes, but is notlimited to, electrical circuitry having at least one discrete electricalcircuit, electrical circuitry having at least one integrated circuit,electrical circuitry having at least one application specific integratedcircuit, electrical circuitry forming a general purpose computing deviceconfigured by a computer program (e.g., a general purpose computerconfigured by a computer program which at least partially carries outprocesses and/or devices described herein, or a microprocessorconfigured by a computer program which at least partially carries outprocesses and/or devices described herein), electrical circuitry forminga memory device (e.g., forms of random access memory), and/or electricalcircuitry forming a communications device (e.g., a modem, communicationsswitch, or optical-electrical equipment). Those having skill in the artwill recognize that the subject matter described herein may beimplemented in an analog or digital fashion or some combination thereof.

As used in any aspect herein, the term “logic” may refer to an app,software, firmware and/or circuitry configured to perform any of theaforementioned operations. Software may be embodied as a softwarepackage, code, instructions, instruction sets and/or data recorded onnon-transitory computer readable storage medium. Firmware may beembodied as code, instructions or instruction sets and/or data that arehard-coded (e.g., nonvolatile) in memory devices.

As used in any aspect herein, the terms “component,” “system,” “module”and the like can refer to a computer-related entity, either hardware, acombination of hardware and software, software, or software inexecution.

As used in any aspect herein, an “algorithm” refers to a self-consistentsequence of steps leading to a desired result, where a “step” refers toa manipulation of physical quantities and/or logic states which may,though need not necessarily, take the form of electrical or magneticsignals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, andotherwise manipulated. It is common usage to refer to these signals asbits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, or thelike. These and similar terms may be associated with the appropriatephysical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to thesequantities and/or states.

A network may include a packet switched network. The communicationdevices may be capable of communicating with each other using a selectedpacket switched network communications protocol. One examplecommunications protocol may include an Ethernet communications protocolwhich may be capable permitting communication using a TransmissionControl Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). The Ethernet protocol maycomply or be compatible with the Ethernet standard published by theInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) titled “IEEE802.3 Standard”, published in December, 2008 and/or later versions ofthis standard. Alternatively or additionally, the communication devicesmay be capable of communicating with each other using an X.25communications protocol. The X.25 communications protocol may comply orbe compatible with a standard promulgated by the InternationalTelecommunication Union-Telecommunication Standardization Sector(ITU-T). Alternatively or additionally, the communication devices may becapable of communicating with each other using a frame relaycommunications protocol. The frame relay communications protocol maycomply or be compatible with a standard promulgated by ConsultativeCommittee for International Telegraph and Telephone (CCITT) and/or theAmerican National Standards Institute (ANSI). Alternatively oradditionally, the transceivers may be capable of communicating with eachother using an Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) communications protocol.The ATM communications protocol may comply or be compatible with an ATMstandard published by the ATM Forum titled “ATM-MPLS NetworkInterworking 2.0” published August 2001, and/or later versions of thisstandard. Of course, different and/or after-developedconnection-oriented network communication protocols are equallycontemplated herein.

Unless specifically stated otherwise as apparent from the foregoingdisclosure, it is appreciated that, throughout the foregoing disclosure,discussions using terms such as “processing,” “computing,”“calculating,” “determining,” “displaying,” or the like, refer to theaction and processes of a computer system, or similar electroniccomputing device, that manipulates and transforms data represented asphysical (electronic) quantities within the computer system's registersand memories into other data similarly represented as physicalquantities within the computer system memories or registers or othersuch information storage, transmission or display devices.

One or more components may be referred to herein as “configured to,”“configurable to,” “operable/operative to,” “adapted/adaptable,” “ableto,” “conformable/conformed to,” etc. Those skilled in the art willrecognize that “configured to” can generally encompass active-statecomponents and/or inactive-state components and/or standby-statecomponents, unless context requires otherwise.

The terms “proximal” and “distal” are used herein with reference to aclinician manipulating the handle portion of the surgical instrument.The term “proximal” refers to the portion closest to the clinician andthe term “distal” refers to the portion located away from the clinician.It will be further appreciated that, for convenience and clarity,spatial terms such as “vertical”, “horizontal”, “up”, and “down” may beused herein with respect to the drawings. However, surgical instrumentsare used in many orientations and positions, and these terms are notintended to be limiting and/or absolute.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that, in general, terms usedherein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of theappended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term“including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” theterm “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term“includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,”etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if aspecific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such anintent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence ofsuch recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid tounderstanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of theintroductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claimrecitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed toimply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinitearticles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing suchintroduced claim recitation to claims containing only one suchrecitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases“one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or“an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should typically be interpreted to mean “atleast one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use ofdefinite articles used to introduce claim recitations.

In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitationis explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that suchrecitation should typically be interpreted to mean at least the recitednumber (e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without othermodifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or morerecitations). Furthermore, in those instances where a conventionanalogous to “at least one of A, B, and C, etc.” is used, in generalsuch a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the artwould understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one ofA, B, and C” would include but not be limited to systems that have Aalone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and Ctogether, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). In those instances where aconvention analogous to “at least one of A, B, or C, etc.” is used, ingeneral such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill inthe art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at leastone of A, B, or C” would include but not be limited to systems that haveA alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and Ctogether, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). It will be furtherunderstood by those within the art that typically a disjunctive wordand/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in thedescription, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplatethe possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, orboth terms unless context dictates otherwise. For example, the phrase “Aor B” will be typically understood to include the possibilities of “A”or “B” or “A and B.”

With respect to the appended claims, those skilled in the art willappreciate that recited operations therein may generally be performed inany order. Also, although various operational flow diagrams arepresented in a sequence(s), it should be understood that the variousoperations may be performed in other orders than those which areillustrated, or may be performed concurrently. Examples of suchalternate orderings may include overlapping, interleaved, interrupted,reordered, incremental, preparatory, supplemental, simultaneous,reverse, or other variant orderings, unless context dictates otherwise.Furthermore, terms like “responsive to,” “related to,” or otherpast-tense adjectives are generally not intended to exclude suchvariants, unless context dictates otherwise.

It is worthy to note that any reference to “one aspect,” “an aspect,”“an exemplification,” “one exemplification,” and the like means that aparticular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connectionwith the aspect is included in at least one aspect. Thus, appearances ofthe phrases “in one aspect,” “in an aspect,” “in an exemplification,”and “in one exemplification” in various places throughout thespecification are not necessarily all referring to the same aspect.Furthermore, the particular features, structures or characteristics maybe combined in any suitable manner in one or more aspects.

Any patent application, patent, non-patent publication, or otherdisclosure material referred to in this specification and/or listed inany Application Data Sheet is incorporated by reference herein, to theextent that the incorporated materials is not inconsistent herewith. Assuch, and to the extent necessary, the disclosure as explicitly setforth herein supersedes any conflicting material incorporated herein byreference. Any material, or portion thereof, that is said to beincorporated by reference herein, but which conflicts with existingdefinitions, statements, or other disclosure material set forth hereinwill only be incorporated to the extent that no conflict arises betweenthat incorporated material and the existing disclosure material.

In summary, numerous benefits have been described which result fromemploying the concepts described herein. The foregoing description ofthe one or more forms has been presented for purposes of illustrationand description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or limiting to theprecise form disclosed. Modifications or variations are possible inlight of the above teachings. The one or more forms were chosen anddescribed in order to illustrate principles and practical application tothereby enable one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the variousforms and with various modifications as are suited to the particular usecontemplated. It is intended that the claims submitted herewith definethe overall scope.

1. A method of mitigating a function of a user interface (UI) display ofa modular energy system, the method comprising: receiving, by a videodata converter circuit, formatted video data at an input channel of thevideo data converter circuit, wherein the input channel is coupled to aprocessor and the formatted video data represents an expected image tobe displayed on a display, the video data converter having two outputchannels, wherein a first output channel is coupled to the display and asecond output channel is coupled back to the processor, wherein theprocessor is configured to couple to a surgical instrument; providing,by the video data converter circuit, differential video signaling datato the display from the first output channel of the video data convertercircuit; providing, by the video data converter circuit, a copy of thedifferential video signaling data to the processor from the secondoutput channel; and determining, by the processor, whether thedifferential video signaling data on the second output channel ischanging over time.
 2. The method of claim 1, comprising reconstructing,by the processor, an image based on the differential video signalingdata on the second output channel.
 3. The method of claim 2, comprising:comparing, by the processor, the reconstructed image to the expectedimage; and enabling, by the processor, activation of the surgicalinstrument based on a match between the reconstructed image and theexpected image.
 4. The method of claim 2, comprising: comparing, by theprocessor, the reconstructed image to the expected image; and disable,by the processor, activation of the surgical instrument based on amismatch between the reconstructed image and the expected image.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, comprising disabling, by the processor, activation ofthe surgical instrument based on the differential video signaling dataon the second output channel not changing over time when expected.
 6. Amethod of mitigating erroneous outputs from an isolated interfacecircuit for a modular energy system, the method comprising: receiving,at a first input of a first comparator, a state of a first switch of afirst footswitch coupled to the first input of the first comparator anda reference voltage coupled to a second input of the first comparator;receiving, at a first input of a first duplicate comparator, the stateof the first switch coupled to the first input of the first duplicatecomparator and the reference voltage coupled to a second input of thefirst duplicate comparator; comparing, by a controller coupled tooutputs of the first comparator and the first duplicate comparator, theoutput of the first comparator with the output of the first duplicatecomparator; and determining, by the controller, activation ordeactivation of a surgical instrument coupled to the controller based onthe comparison.
 7. The method of claim 6, comprising: receiving, by ananalog to digital converter (ADC) coupled to the controller, a firstfootswitch identification signal; and identifying, by the controller, atype of the first footswitch based on the first footswitchidentification signal.
 8. The method of 7, comprising: receiving, by theADC, any one of a comparator reference voltage, supply voltage, orswitch voltage; measuring, by the controller, the comparator referencevoltage, supply voltage, or switch voltage applied to the ADC;determining, by the controller, that the comparator reference voltage,supply voltage, or switch voltage is within predetermined limits; andenabling, by the controller, activation of the surgical instrument inthe instance that the comparator reference voltage, supply voltage, orswitch voltage is within the predetermined limits; disabling, by thecontroller, activation of the surgical instrument in the instance thatthe comparator reference voltage, supply voltage, or switch voltage isnot within the predetermined limits.
 9. The method of claim 6,comprising: receiving, at a first input of a second comparator, a stateof a second switch of the first footswitch coupled to the first input ofthe second comparator and a reference voltage coupled to a second inputof the second comparator; receiving, at a first input of a secondduplicate comparator, the state of the second switch coupled to thefirst input of the second duplicate comparator and the reference voltagecoupled to a second input of the second duplicate comparator; comparing,by a controller coupled to outputs of the second comparator and thesecond duplicate comparator, the output of the second comparator withthe output of the second duplicate comparator; and determining, by thecontroller, activation or deactivation of a surgical instrument coupledto the controller based on the comparison.